The old guard came to the fore in the AFC West in 2016. The Kansas City Chiefs, the first AFL team to play in a Super Bowl, won the division, ending the five-year reign of the Denver Broncos, and the Oakland Raiders, the second team to represent the AFL in the Super Bowl, earned a wildcard berth, their first appearance in the postseason since 2002. The Raiders were originally the scourge of the AFC West when it was formed in 1970. The Raiders captured six of the first seven titles in the division and appeared in six of the first eight AFC Championship Games.
But they only won only once, in 1976 after a 13-1 regular season. The Raiders went on to defeat the Minnesota Vikings 32-14 in Super Bowl XI. Every team in the AFC West has appeared in a Super Bowl. Along with the the AFC East, they are the only AFC divisions that can make this boast.
Best AFC West Betting Lines
We provide the best AFC West betting lines below so keep your eye on them and find the game that is most appealing. Don’t forget to take into account the variety of betting types.
What Are The AFC West Standings
This is where you will find located the up-to-date AFC West standings and it was a strange betting year within the division in 2016.
The Chiefs won the AFC West with a 12-4 record, but were only 9-7 against the spread and 6-10 in the total. At the other end, the Chargers finished last at 5-11, but were decent against the spread (7-9) and a solid over bet, going 9-6-1 on the total.
The Raiders and Broncos tended to hold form. Oakland was 12-4 overall, 10-6 against the spread and 11-5 on the total. Denver went 9-7, were 9-7 ATS and 7-9 in the total wager.
How To Win AFC West Bets
One thing that's a sure bet in the AFC West is that locales will change, often more than once. Of the four AFC West teams, only the Denver Broncos have stayed put in the same city since Day 1. All four of the current AFC West teams were situated in the fledgling AFL West during that league's first season of 1960.
The Chargers were in Los Angeles - they moved to San Diego in 1961, the Raiders were in Oakland and the fourth team was the Dallas Texans, who became the Kansas City Chiefs in 1963.
The Raiders became the second AFC West team to call L.A. home when they moved there in 1982, but the Raiders reversed course and returned to Oakland in 1995. Now they will be moving to Las Vegas in 2020. Meanwhile, Los Angeles once again has two NFL teams, as the Chargers have returned to the city for the 2017 season, one year after the Rams came back to L.A. from St. Louis.
In the AFL days, the teams of the current AFC West were dominant forces in early Super Bowl play. The Kansas City Chiefs represented the AFL in Super Bowl I and the Oakland Raiders were the AFL rep in Super Bowl.
Losers by a 35-10 count to the Green Bay Packers in their first trip to the big game, the Chiefs returned to throttle the Minnesota Vikings 23-7 as a 12-point underdog, becoming the first team to return to the Super Bowl after a loss and win the second time around.
The Chiefs were also the first team to win the Super Bowl as a wildcard playoff entrant and forever will be the last team to represent the AFL in the Super Bowl.
AFC West teams tend to be good bets as underdogs. The Oakland Raiders won Super Bowl XV as a wildcard and a three-point underdog. The Denver Broncos won Super Bowl XXXII as a wildcard team and an 11-point underdog. Denver also won Super Bowl 50 as a five-point underdog to the Carolina Panthers.
Teams from the AFC West are 2-3 in Super Bowls where they've been favored and 5-6 in Super Bowls where they've been the underdog.
There's been plenty of recent speculation that the San Diego Chargers might be finding a new home and considering the history of AFC West teams, betting that the Chargers will be on the move might be playing the smart money.
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