San Diego Chargers- The San Diego Chargers are perhaps the oddest good team in the NFL today, and the only team in the division that isnt rebuilding per se. Philip Rivers is not playing the way he normally does and the Chargers are suffering for it. But it is not just Rivers, the Chargers seem to collapse whenever they have a chance to wrap up a win. While losing to Green Bay is something that happens, Rivers was keeping up with Rodgers, but two interceptions run back for touchdowns will kill any team. The Chargers need to turn it around if they are going to return to the playoffs.
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| Philip Rivers needs to turn his game around, to keep the Chargers in this division (Picture Source: nflsoup.com) |
Kansas City Chiefs- The world was ready to throw the Chiefs away in week 3 when the Chiefs had lost their third straight, but the Chiefs turned it around and won four straight before giving Miami their first win. But that is what helps make the division so competitive, the Chiefs are tied for first in the division. Matt Cassel seems to be playing well again as well as Jackie Battle trying to emerge as their starting running back. If the Chiefs can keep their defense playing at the level it did throughout the season in 2010, the Chiefs could see themselves in the playoffs for the second straight year.
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| Matt Cassel leads a Chiefs offense that has struggled since the loss of Jamaal Charles. The Chiefs need better play on both offense and defense to hang around in this division.(Image Source:kffl.com) |
Oakland Raiders- Oh the Oakland Raiders, just when you think the Raiders are ready to take the division by storm with a great game manager in Jason Campbell and an elite running back in Darren McFadden, they both go down. Campbell is gone for the season, and Darren McFadden is week to week. Now the Raiders have traded just about what was left of their 2012 draft, for the veteran and retired former Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer. While he has shown flashes of what took the Bengals to the playoffs a few seasons ago, but he has also shown signs of rust. Perhaps when McFadden returns from his injury, that will take pressure off of Palmer to give him more of a relearning curve.
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| The return of Darren McFadden will be a difference maker of the Raiders chances to return to the playoffs for the first time since their Super Bowl run in the 2001/2002 division. (Image Source: articles.sfgate.com) |
Denver Broncos- Going from one shaky quarterback to the next, the Broncos are fighting to give themselves a chance to still compete for this division that they havent won since 2005. Whether or not this happens solely depends on the learning curve of 2nd year quarterback Tim Tebow. If Tebow plays well the Broncos have a chance to compete, but when Tebow plays poorly, they look like the 4-12 team from 2010. But the Broncos are finally running the ball effective enough to give Tebow a chance to spread the field. The Broncos are 2-1 under Tebow this season. Von Miller is doing his part on the other side of the ball as well, with a sack in almost every game this season.
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| Von Miller (58) and Elvis Dumervil (92) bookend a defensive front that can make a quarterback cringe. Von Miller is making a statement this season with 6.5 sacks, while Dumervil is starting to return to form with 1.5 sacks this season. (Image Source:nflmocks.com) |
