Around the AFC West, Week 6: Kansas City Remains Undefeated
By Ellen Mathis
Let’s take another trip around the division as the Chiefs solidify their lead, the Broncos and Raiders fall, and the Chargers remain in the mix.
Welcome back to another tour of the AFC West. We are heading into Week 6 of the 2018 NFL season and let’s just say that Week 5 did not disappoint. From the rain-soaked stands of Arrowhead Stadium, I watched the Kansas City Chiefs blow out the Jacksonville Jaguars and continue their undefeated season. But before we talk about those Chiefs, let’s take a look at the other AFC West teams coming out of Week 5.
Los Angeles Chargers
The Los Angeles Chargers took on the Oakland Raiders at home on Sunday for a good divisional matchup. The Chargers were coming off a win against the embattled and injury-ridden San Francisco 49ers to take on the Raiders who had just pulled off an overtime win against the Cleveland Browns to claim their first victory of the season.
For the first 25 minutes of this game, it appeared as if the game would come down to the very last second. The game was tied at 3-3 until Austin Ekeler caught a pass that went 44 yards for a touchdown and began the Chargers 19 unanswered point run. Interestingly, this play gave the Chargers one of their 29 20+ yard pays. This puts them at third in the league behind none other than the Los Angeles Rams and the Chiefs. Melvin Gordon put up 120 yards from scrimmage and Philip Rivers recorded his 59th 300-yard passing game, throwing for 339 yards and two touchdowns in their 26-10 win over the Raiders.
What ultimately made the difference in this game was turnovers. The Chargers had no turnovers this game, which allowed their offense to control the game. The Chargers defense also came up huge in this game. Their defense was able to sack Derek Carr three times and forced a fumble and interception. The Chargers’ special teams remains an issue as they missed a PAT as well as a field goal.
It seems as if the Chargers may have found their stride. After struggling in the majority of the first half, the broken play that allowed Ekeler to go 44 yards for a touchdown was enough to shift the momentum and allow the Chargers offense to begin to click. Couple that with an impressive defensive performance and it is safe to say that the Chargers are not out of the AFC West race. They played with heart and intensity which led them to an important divisional win.
The Chargers tight end Virgil Green had a rib injury during the game, but the severity of the injury is unknown. Next week, the Chargers travel to Cleveland to take on Baker Mayfield and the Browns. The Browns can’t seem to stay out of overtime. They have also ended their games in every possible way: tied, lost, won, lost in overtime, and won in overtime. We’ll see if Mayfield and the impressive Browns defense can stop Philip Rivers and hold up against the sold Chargers defense. Game time is at 12:00 p.m.