Rest of the AFC West: Week 9 Takeaways

The Oakland Raiders gain ground in AFC West in Week 8 with a close win over the Miami Dolphins.

The Oakland Raiders were the only victorious AFC West team as they defeated the Miami Dolphins on Sunday Night Football. This brings the Raiders to a record of 4-5. The Kansas City Chiefs still lead the division at 6-3 despite losing to the Dallas Cowboys. The Broncos fell to 3-5 with a loss against the Philadelphia Eagles. The Los Angeles Chargers remain 3-5 after their bye week. Here are the rest of the AFC West takeaways for week 9.

Oakland Raiders 27, Miami Dolphins 24

Oakland’s offense outguns hapless Miami Dolphins team.

The Oakland Raiders got a much needed win against the Miami Dolphins on Sunday Night Football. Oakland’s passing attack lead the way with Derek Carr completing 21 of 30 passes for 300 yards and a touchdown. Carr was able to sit in the pocket and find his targets all game long, as he was rarely under duress.

The offensive line, which has struggled throughout the season, played pretty well against a solid Dolphins defense. Star players Cameron Wake and Ndamukong Suh were kept quiet all night long. Suh did end up with a sack, but it was his only tackle in the game.

Tight end Jared Cook had a fantastic night with 8 receptions for 126 yards. Wide receiver Johnny Holton caught a 44 yard touchdown pass on his only target of the night. It is a good sign for the Raiders that players like Cook and Holton can step up to make plays. It gives the offense a chance to have a big game even when the duo of Amari Cooper and Michael Crabtree isn’t very involved. Cooper and Crabtree combined for just 98 yards. The Raiders rushing attack wasn’t spectacular, but it got the job done.

Marshawn Lynch ran for 57 yards on 14 carries and 2 touchdowns. As a whole, the team ran for 84 yards. This wasn’t a bad performance given that Miami is the 7^th best defense against the run on a per game basis.

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Overall, the offense played very well. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about the Raiders defense. The Dolphins entered the game as the worst offense in the league, averaging well under 300 yards and fewer than 14 points per game. To make matters worse, the Dolphins had just traded their best offensive player, Jay Ajayi, to the Eagles a few days before. Despite all this, the Dolphins offense had a great game. Jay Cutler, who was playing with cracked ribs, threw for over 300 yards with 3 touchdowns and no interceptions.

For the Raiders to challenge for a wildcard spot, the defense needs to get better. Linebacker NaVorro Bowman has been a nice addition, but it hasn’t been enough to overcome the leaky secondary. Fortunately, the Raiders will have a bye week to figure things out before their week 11 matchup against the New England Patriots.

Quick Notes

The Raiders still have not recorded an interception this season. This makes 9 games to start the season without intercepting a pass, which is an NFL record.

Denver Broncos 23, Philadelphia Eagles 51

The Broncos offense continues to flounder.

The Denver Broncos offense continued to struggle during their loss against the Eagles. Brock Osweiler got the start at QB after the Broncos decided to bench Trevor Siemian. Osweiler completed just 19 of 38 attempts for 208 yards and a touchdown. He also threw 2 interceptions and was sacked 3 times. The running game was non-existent as well. As a team, the Broncos carried the ball 19 times for only 35 yards. In total, the Broncos were able to gain just 226 yards of total offense. This result isn’t very surprising. The Philadelphia Eagles have one of the best defensive units in the league, and Brock Osweiler was so bad in preseason he got cut by the Cleveland Browns. The Browns!

Unfortunately for the Broncos, the defense was unable to overcome the offensive struggles. The defense had their moments. Carson Wentz was only able to complete 15 of 27 passes, and linebacker Brandon Marshall was able to return a fumble for a touchdown. However, the Eagles were able to dominate on the ground, rushing for 197 yards and 3 touchdowns. This came as a surprise, given that the Denver defense has been fantastic against the run so far this year. The secondary still had some issues as well. Although Carson Wentz had a low completion percentage and a low yardage total, he was still able to throw 4 touchdown passes and no interceptions. Star cornerback Aqib Talib was beaten by Eagles receiver Alshon Jeffrey for two scores.

Overall, it is not a surprise that Denver lost this game. The Eagles currently boast the NFL’s best record at 8-1 and look to be the favorites in the NFC. Unfortunately for the Broncos, things don’t get much easier next week. The Broncos will host the New England Patriots who are coming off of a bye week. A loss would put Denver at 3-6, which would be too big of a hole to climb out of with Osweiler starting games.

Quick Notes

With Devontae Booker coming back from injury, it looks like Jamaal Charles is getting weened out of the running game. Charles only carried the ball 4 times for 1 yard. He also added 4 receptions for 23 yards.

Los Angeles Chargers – Bye Week

The Los Angeles Chargers enjoyed their bye week with the Chiefs and Broncos both losing. The Chargers will travel to Jacksonville to face the 5-3 Jaguars. This is a critical game for the Chargers. A win would put them at 4-5, within striking distance of a wild card spot. A loss would put them at 3-6 and could be the end to their playoff hopes.

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