AFC West: Week 2 takeaways for Raiders, Broncos and Chargers
The AFC West has another strong outing as the division goes 3-1 in week 2, as only the Chargers couldn’t pull out a close victory.
The AFC West had another strong showing in Week 2. Kansas City Chiefs fans enjoyed a tough win against a good Philadelphia Eagles team. The Oakland Raiders dominated a bad New York Jets team. The Denver Broncos dismantled the Dallas Cowboys. As for the Los Angeles Chargers, well, they continued to do Chargers things as they failed to convert a last second field goal for the second straight week.
The Chiefs, Broncos, and Raiders are all sitting at 2-0, while the Chargers could easily be in that position. The race for the division is heating up, so here are the takeaways from the Raiders, Broncos, and Chargers week 2 games.
Oakland Raiders 45, New York Jets 20
The Oakland Raiders dominated the New York Jets from start to finish. This was the expected result, as the Raiders are serious contenders for the AFC West while the Jets are in full rebuild mode. However, it was still an impressive showing by Oakland. With the Raiders travelling to Washington D.C. next week to face the Redskins on Sunday Night Football, it may have been tempting to look ahead. Instead, the Raiders looked prepared and polished.
Derek Carr and the Raiders offense had a very efficient game. Carr completed 23 of 28 passes and 3 touchdowns, all to Michael Crabtree. The Raiders got everybody involved in the passing game as nine different players recorded a reception. Marshawn Lynch was unable to break loose for any long runs, but he was able to score a short yardage touchdown. Instead, the long runs came from Jalen Richard and Cordarrelle Patterson who had touchdown runs of 52 and 43 yards respectively.
With the offense moving the ball like it was, the defense was able to play more conservatively. The Raiders did allow 20 points, but held the Jets to under 300 yards of offense and forced 2 turnovers. The defense sacked Jets quarterback Josh McCown 4 times and only allowed 145 total passing yards. After coming off of a strong performance against the Tennessee Titans, the Raiders run defense did leave a little bit to be desired. The Raiders gave up 126 rushing yards on 25 carries. This is a little concerning given that the Jets could only gain 38 yards rushing against the Bills in week 1.
The Raiders showed that they can manhandle a lesser opponent. There are still some things to work on. The Raiders had 9 penalties for 79 yards and the defense did give up 20 points to a team whose best weapons are a washed up Matt Forte and Seattle Seahawks castaway Jermaine Kearse. However, the end result was a decisive win.
Quick Notes
Former Chief, Sean Smith, did not play due to a neck injury. First round draft pick Gareon Conley made his first career start. With Sean Smith out, Conley saw 46 defensive snaps. He recorded 3 tackles and 1 pass defended.