AFC WEST: VET GUNSLINGER WILL HOLD OFF UPSTART IN KANSAS CITY
1 CHARGERS
COACH: Anthony Lynn 2017 RECORD: 9-7 O/U WINS: 9
SUPER BOWL ODDS: 18/1 FIRST-AND-GOAL: QB Philip Rivers (right) still has the fire and the arm. WR
Keenan Allen caught 102 passes with six TDs last season. WR Mike Williams can be a 6-foot-4 red-zone menace now that his rookie-season back issues are behind him. Tyrell Williams is another big target. RB Melvin Gordon may average only 3.9 yards per carry, but he has caught 99 passes over the past two seasons. Center Mike
Pouncey bolsters a line anchored by LT Russell Okung. Joey Bosa and Melvin Ingram are the best pass-rush duo in the league. Two rookies, S Derwin James and OLB Uchenna Nwosu, will bolster the 32nd-ranked run defense. The secondary can withstand the loss of CB Jason Verrett (torn Achilles) thanks to Casey Hayward, Trevor Williams and Desmond King. FOURTH-AND-LONG: DE Corey Liuget serves a four-game suspension. TE Hunter Henry (Achilles) could miss the season. Virgil Green is no Hunter Henry, so here comes Old Reliable Antonio Gates to the rescue. Will secondyear guards Forrest Lamp and Dan Feeney grow up?
2 CHIEFS
COACH: Andy Reid | 2017 RECORD: 10-6 O/U WINS: 8| SUPER BOWL ODDS: 30/1 FIRST-AND-GOAL: TE Travis Kelce is a matchup nightmare. RB Kareem Hunt (right) led the league in rushing as a rookie. WR Tyreek Hill can take the top off a defense. Justin Houston (9.5 sacks) and Dee Ford hunt quarterbacks. Comeback Kid safety Eric Berry (Achilles) inspires everyone. LB Anthony Hitchens helps replace Derrick Johnson. PK Harrison Butker made 38-of-42 FGs last season. Reid is always a formidable opponent. FOURTH-AND-LONG: QB Patrick Mahomes is an athlete and a gunslinger, but he’ll be boom or bust while he matures. WR Sammy Watkins has caught 67 passes over the past two years. The Bills drafted him ahead of Mike Evans and Odell Beckham Jr. Departed CB Marcus Peters was a hothead, but quarterbacks feared him. CB Kendall Fuller is a downgrade.
3 BRONCOS
COACH: Vance Joseph 2017 RECORD: 5-11 O/U WINS: 7 ¹/2 SUPER BOWL ODDS: 40/1 FIRST-AND-GOAL: QB Case Keenum stabilizes the position and makes WRs Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders more relevant. Rookie Courtland Sutton could make an impact as the No. 3 receiver. Rookie RB Royce Freeman, a 5-foot-11, 238-pound downhill runner, is the Week 1 starter. LT Garett Bolles looks like a keeper. Von Miller (below) has a new pass rush sidekick in rookie Bradley Chubb. Don’t bother throwing at CB Chris Harris. Safety Justin Simmons looks like a rising star. NT Domata Peko anchors a stout run defense. New punter Marquette King is a weapon.
FOURTH-AND-LONG: The offensive line surrendered 52 sacks last season. The right side is problematic. Tight ends ran free over the middle last season. Safety Su’a Cravens was imported to help. The No Fly Zone watched CB Aqib Talib fly away. Can Bradley
Roby step up opposite Harris? Special teams were awful. The return game was awful. Maybe newly signed CB Adam
“Pacman” Jones can help. PK Brandon McManus was 24-of-32 on FGs. Joseph, who nearly lost his job, overhauled his staff.
4 RAIDERS
COACH: Jon Gruden 2017 RECORD: 6-10 O/U WINS: 8 SUPER BOWL ODDS: 18/1 FIRST-AND-LONG: Gruden is back — as The $100 Million Man. Beware Derek Carr (left)-to- Amari Cooper again. TE Jared Cook should exceed 50 catches again. Marshawn Lynch should be Beast Mode running behind a strong interior offensive line. DE Bruce Irvin has emerged as a leader but was a better pass-rush threat when Khalil Mack was on the field with him. Defensive coordinator Paul Guenther did a nice job in Cincinnati. Only two teams (Texans and Titans) have an easier strength of schedule. FOURTH-AND-LONG: Trading Mack (for a pair of No. 1 picks) to the Bears dooms them. He was the heart and soul of the Silver & Black defense, and as much as they may like rookie DE Arden Key, this can demoralize a locker room. WR Jordy Nelson and LB Derrick Johnson are new members of The Over The Hill Gang. WR Martavis Bryant was cut. The secondary is suspect. PK Sebastian Janikowski and P Marquette King must be replaced. Gruden figures to be rusty after a decade away from the sidelines. The Black Hole is living on borrowed time with the team moving to Las Vegas in 2020.