Around the AFC West, Week 2: Chiefs start season with strong divisional win
By Ellen Mathis
A weekly look around the AFC West continues with a look back at Week 1 and what we’ve beginning to learn about each of the four teams involved.
The NFL kicked off the regular season with a bang last week, and Kansas City Chiefs fans sat back on Sunday to watch the beginning of the Patrick Mahomes era. It was spectacular as Tyreek Hill stole the show and the Chiefs walked out of L.A. with their ninth—ninth!— consecutive win against the Chargers.
Whoever said the Bolts were the darlings of the AFC West, well, I’ll believe it when the Chargers actually do something. There were blowouts and tie games and I am giddy with excitement that I can officially spend my Sundays (and Monday nights and Thursday nights) relaxing on the couch watching football.
All that being said, let’s take a look at the state of the AFC West heading into Week 2.
Los Angeles Chargers
The Chargers lost their home opener on Sunday to the Chiefs. While it wasn’t always pretty—cough defense cough—the Chiefs were in control right from the get go.
A few things we learned about the Chargers. First, their special teams really sunk them. They let the Cheetah loose less than 2 minutes into the game for a 91-yard punt return. You just can’t do that. They also fumbled a punt within the 10-yard line which yielded a wonderful touchdown for the Chiefs. It seems as if the Chargers can’t help themselves. They always find a way to shoot themselves in the foot. Philip Rivers also threw an interception to Ron Parker (pretty sure Chiefs Kingdom is glad he is back). By the end of the game, the Chop was echoing through the stadium.
The story lines coming out of Sunday were all about dropped passes, though. The Chargers receivers dropped so many passes that would have been touchdowns! Sure, maybe. But the Chiefs dropped passes too. And, at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what could have been. It is about what happened—which team really was able to pull it out. On Sunday, it was the Chiefs. I had the Chiefs winning all day because until the Chargers actually beat the Chiefs, they will always be the underdog in this matchup.
The Chargers are still without Joey Bosa heading into Week 2. He remains “week-to-week” with a foot injury and is reported to be seeking a second opinion. The Chargers’ right tackle Joe Barksdale was also carted off during the first quarter and the severity of the injury is not known.
On Sunday, the Chargers head to Buffalo to take on the Bills, who were just blown out, 47-3, by the Ravens. There is also an early quarterback controversy taking shape: Nathan Peterman or Josh Allen. I anticipate that the Chargers will win this game to get back to .500 and give themselves a bit of a confidence boost. Game time is 12:00 p.m. C.T.