Jamaal Charles' Injury: What This Means for the Rest of the AFC West

Thanks to some guy in an overgrown lion costume, the entire outlook of the AFC West has just changed completely.

After an unfortunate run-in with Detroit’s mascot, the Chiefs’ Jamaal Charles was carted off the field with what is being reported as a season ending knee injury. After two flat out embarrassing performances to open the season, the Chiefs’ hopes of a second straight division crown are fading fast.

Though Kansas City will obviously struggle to regroup following the loss of its young Pro Bowl running back, Week 2’s biggest injury begs an important question: how does the AFC West stack up with Charles on the shelf? 

If Charles is in fact out for the year, San Diego immediately becomes the runaway favorite in a division that many thought would be a two-horse race. Though it seemed like the Chargers were better top-to-bottom in 2010, the Chiefs had one significant edge last season and coming into this one—an explosive ground game that Charles brought to the table every week. That edge is now gone for the foreseeable future.

One could argue that with Charles out, the Bolts now have the better running back tandem in Mike Tolbert and Ryan Mathews, one of the few advantages they lacked over KC, last season. This matchup will be put to the test next week, as the Chargers enter a soft spot in their schedule beginning with the banged up Chiefs. San Diego’s defense should have little trouble containing an aging Thomas Jones and seldom used Dexter McCluster, putting big pressure on Matt Cassel to carry his team opposite Philip Rivers. Something tells me Cassel will have trouble matching Rivers through the air.

While the Raiders and Broncos still have little chance of winning the division, the Charles injury, undoubtedly gives both underdogs hope at leapfrogging Kansas City and moving into a position to make a run at San Diego. Oakland will be a particularly interesting team to watch, as healthy Darren McFadden is a legitimate candidate to be the Jamaal Charles of 2011.  

Coming into the season, the AFC West was viewed as one of the more competitive divisions in the league, albeit one of the worst in the NFL. But with the Chiefs losing Jamaal Charles, it’s safe to say that Philip Rivers can gun the Chargers into the postseason.