What the Raiders' Playoff Berth Means for the AFC West

Despite being division champions, Kansas City no longer holds as strong of a grasp on the AFC West as it has in recent years.

The NFL Playoffs are officially set after the Las Vegas Raiders' overtime win over the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday night.

With the win, for the first time since 2018, the Kansas City Chiefs will not be the only AFC West representative in the postseason. 

The race for the division title this season was as close as it's been in years, and for a little while, it looked as if the Chiefs were set to be dethroned. 

Three AFC West teams finished the regular season with winning records, an event that hasn't occurred since the 2016 season, the last time the Raiders made the postseason.

The odds were stacked against the division at certain times this season, as Kansas City was 3-4 at one point, while Las Vegas was 6-7 heading into Week 15. Ironically, the Chargers never stooped below .500, but they are the team left out of the playoffs.

The AFC West was perhaps the most competitive division in the conference this season. Heading into Week 11, more than halfway through the season, not a single team in the division was below .500.

While the Chiefs pulled away with an incredible end-of-season run to secure the No. 2 seed in the AFC, their reign within the AFC West is not as safe as it has been throughout their six-year run at the top.

The Raiders and Chargers just duked it out in an overtime battle to solidify a playoff spot, and each team was rightfully deserving of the opportunity after the seasons they both had.

The Denver Broncos certainly are not far behind, either. They ran out of luck at a time when their three peers had begun to find theirs.

It's safe to say the division is hungry, and the Raiders have proven it's no longer a one-team show.

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