Hi all! As you well know with all of the action geared up for many Sunday’s to come it will be somewhat crowded with articles and live threads around these here parts. I’ve been racking my brain trying to think of new ways to keep the you entertained beyond my usual Sunday (or Saturday) Sum Up. I believe I am able to solve this certain dilemma: Laddie and I have come up with the great idea to do an article of all of the teams in the AFC West and their place and standing in the race for the division crown. I will put together a short summary of each teams’ weekly transactions, their season record, and any highlights on things of note that may have happened. So lets kick this thing off with a bang! This is… “How the West is Won!”
The Kansas City Chiefs
Kansas City started the season off in fine fashion, taking down the defending Super Bowl champions, The New England Patriots. The final score of the match-up was 42 to 27 in favor of Kansas City. There are many news stories that can be rehashed from this game such as Alex Smith putting up completely un-Alex Smith numbers, Kareem Hunt arriving on the NFL scene, and Eric Berry going down with an Achilles injury. I have said it before, the Chiefs can NOT replace Berry. Eric is a special player who is the best at what he does. Playing on an island, ball hawking, and bruising tackles are all things he excels at. The best Kansas City can hope to do is find a rotation of players that can fill in well enough to not be a liability. This season will most likely see safety by committee. Daniel Sorenson and Eric Murray will have to step up and show that they can hold down the fort otherwise Chiefs general manager Brett Veach will find someone else who will. The Chiefs take on the Philadelphia Eagles at home on Sunday at noon. Expect Arrowhead to be packed to capacity in their home opener, especially coming off a huge win. This win against the Patriots puts the Chiefs at 1-0 and leaves them in a 3 way tie for first in the AFC West.
The Los Angeles Chargers
The Chargers took on the Denver Broncos in a prime time Monday night match-up. Unfortunately for Chargers fans they fell in Mile High Stadium to the tune of 21-24. After a late game interception that kept Los Angeles hopes alive and a Keenan Allen touchdown everything was looking up for the Chargers. Phillip Rivers was spot on with a perfect pass to a wide open Travis Benjamin in the end zone. After this things began to fall apart for the Chargers. Bad decisions robbed Los Angeles of time when they should have been in a hurry up offense. Waiting on a measurement and dialing up a running play on 3rd and 1 ran out precious seconds with less than 1 minute remaining in regulation. Fortune shined on them gifting them a pass interference penalty pushing the Bolts into field goal range. With seconds remaining and being down 3 points, kicker Younghoo Koo attempted a field goal. The ball went through the uprights and all looked right for the Chargers to head to overtime. Unfortunately for them Broncos head coach Vance Joseph was able to call a time out just in time and Koo was made to re-kick the field goal. On the second attempt the Broncos were able to block the kick and end the game. This must have been a devastating turn of events for all the fans of the Bolts. The Chargers were in the game until the final seconds and have a lot to look forward to in coming weeks. The Chargers are slated to go head to head against the Miami Dolphins at their temporary home at StubHub Center. The stadium is rather small for a NFL venue only boasting 30,000 seats so look to see all the seats filled with fans of the boys in blue. The Chargers are now at 0-1 and in last place in the AFC West as of this point.
The Denver Broncos
We touched a bit on Denver’s recent outing against the Los Angeles Chargers last Monday night in the confines of the Mile High Stadium. The Broncos led by Trevor Siemian came out with a win against a divisional rival. Siemian was looking decent in his season debut putting up 219 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. On the second drive for the Broncos Siemian orchestrated a long 70 yard 13 play drive and put the exclamation point on the end of it with a 5 yard touchdown pass to Bennie Fowler. The second touchdown for Denver came from the legs of quarterback Trevor Siemian on a 1 yard QB keeper and even showed off some decent moves throwing a juke on a defender on his way to paydirt. In the third quarter Bradley Roby intercepted a pass coming for Keenan Allen and Denver was able to take in great field position at the 43 yard line. C.J. Anderson was able to find the endzone but it was brought back on a penalty. It wouldn’t matter as Siemian was able to connect with Fowler again for another touchdown. Unfortunately for Denver their guard Ronald Leary was knocked out of the game with a concussion. McManus used his leg to kick a 20 yard field goal to put the Broncos up 24-7. This is where things began to fall apart for Denver. The Chargers were able to put up 14 unanswered points and put the game into jeopardy for the home team. After the Bolts geared up for a game tying field goal head coach Vance Joseph was able to ice the kicker and his special teams unit was up to the task of a second kick. Shelby Harris jumped off the line and reached in for the game saving block. It seemed like Denver was trying to give the game away in the 4th quarter of play. A last second blocked field goal saved the game for them. Denver looked on point for most of the match in a heavily contested game on national television. They will continue to be legitimate contenders in weeks to come and look to keep their playoff aspirations alive with a stifling defense and an offense that can get things done. This coming Sunday the Broncos take on the Dallas Cowboys at home in a mid-afternoon showdown. The Broncos are now 1-0 and in a 3 way tie for first in the AFC West.
The Oakland Raiders
The Raiders in their first road game of the season took on the Tennessee Titans at Nissan Stadium. Coming away from Tennessee with a 26-16 victory the Raiders defense looked stifling throughout the day holding the Titans when it counted. Things got off to an interesting start for Oakland in the music city. Titans kicker (and former Chief) Ryan Succop attempted an onside kick right out of the gate. The black and silver weren’t buying what the Titans were selling and were able to cover the ball and start the game in excellent field position. The first touchdown of the day came from Raiders quarterback Derek Carr to Amari Cooper on an eight yard scamper. Tennessee wasn’t going down without a fight and responded right back with a Mariota rushing touchdown to bring the score back to even. After trading field goals and punts temporary Raiders kicker Giorgio belted a 52 yard field goal with so much extra leg behind it some fans must begin to wonder if they may have a replacement for old Seabass waiting in the wings. Going into halftime the Raiders were up 13-10 and Oakland came out of the gates looking to put the game away. After a pair of field goals by both teams Derek Carr slung a pass 19 yards to receiver Seth Roberts in the fourth quarter. As I said the Oakland defense was the star of the game holding the Titans to 16 points and putting their offense in a good position to go out and win the game for them. Marshawn Lynch made his Oakland debut and did not disappoint Raiders fans catching a pass for 16 yards and rushing for 76 yards on 18 carries. He appeared to be in full form punishing defenders who had the bad idea to get in his way. Another bright spot for Oakland was Giorgio Tavecchio the replacement kicker for Sebastian Janikowski in his first career start. Kicking 4 for 4, two of which were for 52 yards. He was certainly on fire for the silver and black and will be a potent weapon for the Raiders in games to come. Oakland is a serious Super Bowl contender and will be looking to keep their season rolling in their next matchup against the New York Jets in their home opener. With the Raiders good play and season aspirations, the Black Hole will be completely filled. With this win the Oakland Raiders are 1-0 and in a 3 way tie for the AFC West.
According to Sun Tzu, you need to know your enemy… and know yourself. We must stay up to date with everything that is going on in our division to know what to prepare for when the time comes to take on these divisional foes. Also, we need to be realistic with our expectations for our team. I know the Thursday night game was fantastic but we can not really expect to win games against such a heavily favored foe every time out. As great as it would be to go undefeated throughout the season, it is NOT going to happen. As long as we accept our limitations and liabilities we will be in a much better frame of mind to take on tougher opponents. I will keep these articles up to date so we always know the latest goings on with the three teams we share a division with. There we have it guys. Comment below and as always VIVA LA JET SWEEP and GO CHIEFS!
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