AFC West: Four things we (think we) know after four games

San Diego Chargers: 3-1

Oakland Raiders: 2-2

Denver Broncos: 1-3

Kansas City Chiefs: 1-3

Defense is optional?

Of the 16 teams in the AFC, four defenses have allowed more than 100 points in the first four games. Three of those four teams are in the same division: Kansas City (126), Oakland (113) and Denver (111). San Diego’s allowed a respectable 86 points, but they’ve played three sub-par teams at home and lost their only real test on the road in New England.

Now, it’s only been four weeks, I know, but it’s clear that, after a quarter of the season, the division’s defenses are weak. The weakest? The Broncos. The strongest? The Bolts.

Injury bugs don't discriminate

Injuries happen. No team is immune. That’s why it’s a 53-man roster and not 25 men. The first cut is the deepest though (I guess?), and that came on the second play of the season for the Chiefs. Second-year safety Eric Berry tore his ACL and will miss the season.

A handful of the best players in the division are sidelined. Gates, Charles, Dumervil, Bailey, Moeaki. It reads more like a Pro Bowl roster than an injury list. We know injuries have already affected the division top to bottom and there’s no telling what could happen in the coming weeks. But, the law of averages says the worst could be behind these teams.

Here are the notable injuries I see in the division:

Kansas City: Eric Berry (ACL), Jamaal Charles (ACL), Tony Moeaki (knee), Jonathan Baldwin (thumb)

San Diego Chargers: Luis Castillo (tibia), Antonio Gates (foot), Quentin Jammer (hamsting)

Denver Broncos: Eddie Royal (groin), Demaryius Thomas (finger), Champ Bailey (hamsting), Elvis Dumervil (shoulder)

Oakland Raiders: Chris Johnson (hamstring), Louis Murphy (groin), Michael Huff (concussion), Marcel Reece (ankle), Jacoby Ford (hamstring), Matt Shaunghnessy (shoulder)

Rivers might run through it

The AFC West quarterbacks aren’t exactly a bunch of gunslingers. Exclude Phillip Rivers, a top five quarterback in the league, and you’re looking at Larry, Moe and Curly. Err, Kyle Orton, Matt Cassel and Jason Campbell. They're not going to set the world on fire.

Rivers is in a class of his own. Look for him to throw for 400+ yards a few times and I’ll go out a limb here and say no one else in the division will do that once. It’s a pretty sturdy limb, but I’m out there on it. Prove me wrong, fellas, but until then, I think Rivers and the Chargers have the best shot at winning the division.

Take your pick

As easy as it is to dub the Chargers a front-runner, the talent levels on all four teams are remarkably even. The two divisional games already played were both decided by three points and both looked like two evenly matched teams. I think this division has all the makings of a tight race, down to the last weeks of the season. Look for some of the best games of the year in the Chiefs vs. Broncos, Chiefs vs. Raiders and Chargers vs. Raiders match-ups.

The division is lacking for one dominant team. It’s two young coaches, John Fox and Norv Turner. We all know the tendency of Norv Turner coached teams to crumble. Most see it as a boring division, but this is going to be a season-long grind before there is a champ.