AFC West Roundup: Week 3
Photo Credit: Jay Biggerstaff, USA TODAY Sports
Another week, come and gone. The AFC West went an even 2-2 this week, With the Chiefs at the top and the Broncos in the cellar. Here’s how each game shook out this week:
Photo Credit: Getty Images
Chiefs
Surprise, surprise! The demise of the Chiefs was greatly exaggerated. Truth be told, there’s not much that can be said about this game, at least from the Chiefs side of things; They’re a very good team that beat the living daylights out of a very bad team. Patrick Mahomes is still a demigod, Travis Kelce is still on track for the hall, and the Chiefs are still the juggernaut of all juggernauts. The most newsworthy thing about this game involves Kelce and his new romance, and that should tell you all you need to know.
Photo Credit: Anthony Souffle, Star Tribune
ChargerS
The Chargers are in a unique spot this week; They’re coming off a thrilling, important win against Minnesota, and yet it sure seems like things are still going in the wrong direction. Justin Herbert had a massive game, but it was just barely enough to lead the Chargers to victory. Faith in Brandon Staley seems to be at an all-time low, which is certainly saying something given how last season ended for L.A. Herbert may carry this team to some victories, but with Mike Williams now done for the year and this team’s penchant for shooting themselves in the foot, it’s hard to have high expectations for these Chargers.
Photo Credit: Getty Images
Raiders
What a meteoric fall back to Earth for Las Vegas. After the high of knocking off Denver in week one, the Raiders got pummeled by the Bills in week two and embarrassed themselves on national TV on Sunday Night Football this weekend. The Raiders actually managed to keep up with Pittsburgh and had a chance near the end- until Josh McDaniels made the inexplicable decision to kick a field goal while his team was down 8 with 2:22 left in the game. Oh, and for good measure, it looks like their quarterback was concussed for an unknown period of time during the game! The faith in McDaniels has been on a steady decline for a while now, but it’s starting to seem like a foregone conclusion that this will be his last year at the helm. Fortunately for Vegas, their division rivals were kind enough to save them from most of the headlines by putting up an even MORE embarrassing performance!
Photo Credit: RJ Sangosti, Denver Post
Broncos
My goodness. Where do you even start with this? I mean, you definitely start with the fact that this team gave up 70(!!!??!!) points, but the Broncos’ problems are much deeper than just the defensive performance. The team is undisciplined on both sides of the ball, Russell Wilson is getting GTA ragdolled behind his offensive line every week, and they’re now far behind their rivals with an 0-3 record. The singular saving grace for the Denver Broncos right now is that they get to play the even more hapless Chicago Bears this weekend. For all the problems Denver has, Chicago makes them look like a top-flight franchise right now. On paper, it’s an ideal “get right” game for the Broncos, and a good stepping stone to salvage this season. But make no mistake: If they manage to lose this game, you can go ahead and put practically everyone not named Patrick Surtain or Javonte Williams on the trade block. It’s scary hours in Denver.
