The Real Deal: The AFC West's New Surprise

Okay, I understand that a lot people are jumping on the bandwagon of the Broncos, and yes, I understand it is only Week Seven and with 10 weeks still to play anything can happen in the NFL.

But I am confident in saying that the Denver Broncos will win the AFC West. It hurts me to say because I am a born-and-raised Charger fan but after the 34-23 win over the Chargers, the nation saw the Broncos outperform and outmatch the preseason AFC favorite.

With a three-and-a-half game lead over the second place Chargers, the Broncos play in a sub-par AFC West where Kansas City and Oakland pose no threat to competing. This point was already exemplified in Week Three when Denver allowed three points and 137 yards of total offense at Oakland.

Here a few more reasons why the Broncos won the AFC West Monday night and, if kept up, will reach the Super Bowl.

Kyle Orton has made Denver fans forget all about Jay Cutler after his solid 9-1 touchdown to interception (coming to Randy Moss on a Hail Mary) ratio averaging 245 yards/gm.

But Orton is only as good as he is right now because of his surrounding cast. He has one of the best offensive lines in the NFL, a young-talented duo of running backs, and targets to throw to in receivers Brandon Marshall, Eddie Royal, veteran Brandon Stokely, and tight end Tony Scheffler.

The only thing that worries me about the offense is the back field. Right now they are holding up great, but Buckhalter has a history of injuries, and it has followed him this year. I am a big fan of Knowshon Moreno, I think he is going to do great things in the NFL, but he is only a rookie and has coughed up the ball already a few times this year, which makes me wonder how he will handle the pressure in big games.

The Broncos defense has cracked NFL history allowing 10 points in the second half through the first six games of the season. Doesn’t the Bronco defense remind you of the 2000 Raven defense flying around and flat out making plays when it counts?

One of the more impressive things is the defense's success against playoff-caliber offenses. The Chargers are yet to score under 20 points in a game, the Patriots have scored less than 20 points twice, once against the Broncos, and the Cowboys have scored less than 20 points only once. Guess to who?

But back to the 10 points, that is unheard of. Teams score that in a quarter let alone a half.

There are three qualities that make a dominating defense.

First, you need a leader and the Broncos got one of the best, in one of the most underrated acquisitions from the offseason, with seven-time pro bowler Brian Dawkins.

Dawkins, the only player in NFL history to record a sack, an interception, forced fumble, and touchdown reception in a single game, has put fear in opponents for 13 seasons. Along with his hard hitting comes the ability to stuff the box and play the pass. And not sure if you saw but even when Dawkins was taken out in the first half due to injury, he was still pumping his team up!

Next, a suffocating defense needs a shutdown corner that can stop the opponents' No.1 receiver and Champ Bailey has been that guy his whole career when healthy. Now that the veteran is back to full strength, he has only allowed receivers to catch 14 of the 35 pass attempts thrown his way.

But what I like most about the Bronco defense is their ability to put pressure on the quarterback and nobody does it better than Elvis Dumervil.

With 10 sacks in six games he is on pace to pass Michael Strahan’s single-season record of 22.5 sacks. Putting pressure on the quarterback is effective in multiple ways. Receivers have less time to get open and the quarterback’s clock becomes shorter as we saw it happen to Phillip Rivers a few times Monday night.

But a lot of the due should be given to the new coaching staff. Head coach Josh McDaniels has re-energized this Bronco team and defensive coordinator Mike Nolan, acquired from the San Francisco 49ers, has created one of the biggest defensive forces we have seen in a while.

If this Bronco team can stay healthy be ready for a force to be reckoned with.