Around the AFC West, Week 1: Denver Broncos are embarrassing
By Ellen Mathis
Oakland Raiders
After all the drama with Antonio Brown this offseason, there were real questions as to whether the Oakland Raiders were going to be able to put anything together. While Raiders fans expressed their displeasure (to keep it PG) with the Brown situation, Derek Carr and the offense proved what they had been telling everyone all along: they didn’t need AB.
Carr kicked off the season with a beautiful opening drive that ended in a touchdown. He only continued to impress from there. The oft-criticized offensive line of the Raiders provided excellent protection for Carr as he went 22 of 26 for 259 yards and, most notably, wasn’t sacked once.
Rookie running back Josh Jacobs had a great debut with 23 carries for 85 yards and added a 28-yard reception. Leading the wide receiver corps was Tyrell Williams who had 6 catches for 105 yards. Someone that flew under the radar was tight end Darren Waller who added 7 receptions for 70 yards. All in all, the Raiders still don’t look like a team that will contend, but they certainly look like they will be better than I had originally anticipated.
The Raiders had a scary moment when cornerback Gareon Conley went down after a hit to the head by teammate Johnathan Abram. Conley was down on the ground for several moments as teammates kneeled nearby. After being strapped to a stretcher and carried off the field, Conley flashed a thumbs up. After the game, head coach Jon Gruden said that reports were positive. Even on a rival team, that is never something you like to see. We hope he is okay and can get back to being burned by Chiefs receivers.
The Raiders host the Kansas City Chiefs next week in a Sunday afternoon AFC West divisional contest. The Chiefs are coming off an impressive rout of the Jacksonville Jaguars that saw an emergence of Sammy Watkins, LeSean McCoy, and some guy named Patrick Mahomes.
With an injury to Tyreek Hill, the Chiefs are without their best offensive weapon. However, it didn’t seem to slow them down. Couple that with the fact that the Raiders are still only an average team, and I anticipate the Chiefs will roll through Oakland with no problem and will continue their march to another AFC West crown. Game time is 3:05 p.m.