AFC West betting: odds stacked high in favor of Denver Broncos

It’s hard to imagine the Denver Broncos being much better than they were leading up to last year’s Super Bowl loss to the Seattle Seahawks.

However, the Broncos are hoping some key acquisitions on defense will put them over the top, leading them to yet another AFC West title and giving them one more shot at the Super Bowl.

Denver is the 1/3 favorite to win the division with reigning NFL MVP Peyton Manning back in the saddle at 38 years old. Manning had a career year for the Broncos (O/U 11.5 wins) last season, throwing an NFL-record 55 touchdown passes and also setting a new league mark with 5,477 passing yards.

But it still was not enough in the biggest game of the year, as the Seattle Seahawks swarmed them in a 43-8 Super Bowl rout.

Defensively, Denver was without star pass rusher Von Miller for much of last year due to a suspension and knee injury, including the postseason when the team needed him the most. This year, the Broncos added DeMarcus Ware from the Dallas Cowboys to pair with Miller and give them potentially one of the fiercest tandems in the NFL if both can stay healthy.

They also should have an improved secondary with cornerback Chris Harris back from a knee injury suffered in the playoffs and free agent Aqib Talib joining him on the other side. The Seahawks showed Denver that defense wins championships, and the Broncos will definitely need to get better there in order to take that one last step.

They open at home as big home chalk against a tough Colts team.

Like last year, the San Diego Chargers (O/U 8 wins) and Kansas City Chiefs (O/U 8 wins) will be Denver’s top competition in the division, but they will each also face a tough task in trying to repeat or better last season’s performance.

Both the Chargers (5/1 to win the AFC West) and Chiefs (6/1) made the postseason with first-year head coaches, yet neither did much to improve their squads in the offseason.

Kansas City saw Andy Reid do a fine job after getting fired by the Philadelphia Eagles, molding quarterback Alex Smith into a Pro Bowler after striking a deal with the San Francisco 49ers for him. Smith did everything he could to try to lead the Chiefs to a playoff win against the Indianapolis Colts, but his team could not overcome a rash of injuries and blew a 38-10 lead in a painful 45-44 loss.

Odds Shark is predicting a Week 1 victory and cover against Tennessee in its SuperContest predictions.

San Diego is looking to build on a successful first year for head coach Mike McCoy, which included a 27-10 road playoff win against the Cincinnati Bengals before his team fell short in a 24-17 loss at Denver in the divisional round.

The Chargers hope to get another good season or two from longtime starting QB Philip Rivers, who fortunately has a budding star wide receiver in second-year player Keenan Allen. San Diego plays the second half of the MNF doubleheader against Arizona to open the year.

The Oakland Raiders (O/U 5 wins) are 18/1 longshots to win the division and will face long odds with a lot of new faces on the roster. The Raiders brought in veteran QB Matt Schaub as the projected starter and also selected Derek Carr in the second round of the NFL Draft to eventually become his successor. Carr succeeded him much quicker than expected, as he is expected to play Sunday.

That issue alone will make it very difficult for Oakland to post its first winning season since 2002.