Laddie Morse
The Kansas City Chiefs are no longer tied for the lead in the AFC West with the Las Vegas Raiders. In fact, K.C. is two full games up on the hapless Broncos, and one up on both the Chargers and rhe Raiders, who both happened to lose on Sunday. Let’s take a look at each team in the standings of the AFC West and then how they fared in their games on Sunday.
.
.
From this point on, the Chiefs should grow their lead in the AFC West. The Chargers and the Raiders face off in a divisional battle. The woeful men of Mile High face the Da Bears in a game they might want to see as a “get right” game because… if they can’t win against Chicago, they might as well pack it in for the year. Only problem is… the Bears are likely seeing this game that way too. Why wouldn’t they feel they could win against a team that just gave up 70 points? Geez Louise.
.
The Las Vegas Raiders, 1-and-2
The Raiders lost to the Steelers on Sunday Night Football on their own home turf (if you can call it that), in Vegas. I say, if you can call it that because at times it appeared as if the Steelers fans were louder and stronger color wise in the stands.
The Steelers were up 23-to-7 before the Raiders made a late comeback push to make it close. Vegas scored 11 (eleven) points late on a Field Goal and a TD (plus a two point conversion) to make it 23-to-18… and that’s how it ended. Honestly, the Raiders defense made the Steelers QB, Kenny Pickett, look like the second coming of Terry Bradshaw (their Hall of Fame QB in the 70s and 80s). Picket finished 16 of 28 for 235 yards and a 107.8 QB Rating (with zero INTs).
On the other side of the ball, Jimmy Garoppolo was 28 of 44 for 324 yards, but the killer for the Raiders — as it often has been — was their INTs. Three (3) of them. You heard rght — THREE INTs. That kills any drive and that’s also exactly what happened at the end of that game… Garoppolo threw a game ending INT. Although the Raiders needed to come up with a TD plus a 2-point conversion, they had a long history of not being able to accomplish 2-pointers, prior to their 2-point conversion they made earlier in the quarter.
Although the Raiders are facing a weak Chargers team, they are playing the game in So-Fi Stadium in Southern California so that’s one strike against the Raiders already.
.
_____________________
Link to Evolocity — We Buy Houses
If you mention ArrowheadOne, we get a commission.
______________________
.
Los Angeles Chargers, 1-and-2
I nearly typed San Diego Chargers out of habit. I guess I shouldn’t complain about their move since the Chiefs once upon a time moved from Dallas to K.C.. I never like to see anyone ge hurt, but the news out of L.A. about their star WR, Mike Williams, will put a cramp in anyone’s giddy-up.
.
.
The Chargers should come out on top in this game versus the Raiders. However, this past Sunday they faced another 0-and-2 team, the Minnesota Viking, and came out victorious. That gave them a 1-and-2 record to remain one game behind the Chiefs. Since I only see the Chargers as a threat to the Chiefs winning the AFC West, it’s critical to keep up with their season results.
With 12 seconds left in the game, the Vikings QB, Kirk Cousins, threw a pass to TE T. J. Hockenson which bounced off of him and then a defender and landed in the arms of a Chargers LB Kenneth Murray Jr. and the Chargers kneeled down to run the clock out for the win. Their game was that close. While the Vikings have to face the idea of trying to make the playoffs after starting the season 0-and-3, the Chargers are actually now just one game behind the Chiefs in the division.
With Mike Williams out for the season, and Austin Ekeler out because of an ankle injury originally, plus he believes he is underpaid (like a lot of RBs), the Chargers are not close to being up to the full point in their gas tank. I don’t know what it is with the Chargers, but they almost always seem to play their season from a close-but-no-cigar position. For years now, many a national pundit have projected them to be the winner of the AFC West, but it just never seems to become a reality.
The same close-but-no-cigar stance should be taken here… again.
.
The Denver Broncos, 0-and-3
A 70-to-20 loss to the Dolphins. That says it all. How can a team who once won a Super Bowl just eight years ago, have fallen so far so fast? Not that I really care for an answer to that question, but it is strange, and it’s not just the 15 straight wins by the Chiefs over the Broncos either. A big part of the answer is –> the Kansas City Chiefs, Andy Reid, and QB Patrick Mahomes. Shannon Sharpe has something to say about what is going on in Denver and their 70-to20 pounding on Sunday by the Dolphins (1:30):
.
.
I don’t really have much respect for Steven A., but Shannon Sharpe was a great TE for the Broncos and he has been a major Chiefs supporter over the past few seasons, as well as a defender of Travis Kelce as the TE GOAT.
I don’t know what record the Denver Broncos will end up with this season, but a winning record appears out fo the question. Here’s the rest of their schedule (via ESPN):
.
.
The way I see it, the only game the Broncos COULD win is the one this coming weekend against the Bears. However, that’s probably what the Bears are thinking too. So….
If the Broncos end up with the #1 pick in the draft in 2024, Russell Wilson will likely be out of a job come next September.
.
Laddie Morse — ArrowheadOne
.