The Oakland Raiders entered Thursday leading the AFC West by one game, with the remaining three teams tied for second at 4-5. The Denver Broncos had the first opportunity to put some pressure on the Raiders as they faced the New York Jets on Thursday Night Football. Behind a dominant pass defense and the continued fourth quarter magic of Tim Tebow, the Broncos sprung the 17-13 upset of the Jets.
The Broncos now trail the Raiders by a half game as the Raiders prepare to face the Minnesota Vikings. The Raiders and Broncos split the season series, which means a tie would result in moving further down the NFL's tiebreaker procedures. The next tiebreaker is divisional record and amazingly enough, all four teams in the AFC West are tied at 2-2. The next tiebreaker is winning percentage against common opponents, followed by winning percentage against conference opponents.
There is still a long way to go before we get to tiebreakers in the AFC West. Of course, given how the division has performed thus far, it would not be surprising to see at least two teams tied at season's end. The Broncos have a huge divisional road game next week when they head to San Diego to face the Chargers. The Broncos final divisional game is a season finale home game against the Kansas City Chiefs.
This weekend, The Raiders travel to face the Vikings, the Chargers travel to face the Bears and the Chiefs travel to face the Patriots.