Welcome back to another week of Around the AFC West as we recap Week 3 of the 2019 NFL season and look ahead at Week 4.
It’s around this time of year that we start to truly see where teams are at. Of course there are exceptions to the rule, but for the most part, I think we see what is happening this season. This past Sunday was a great gauge for the AFC West. Each team faced a challenging opponent, one that would show their true colors.
So, let’s take a look at what happened in an exciting Week 3 in the AFC West and what that means moving forward.
Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders traveled to Minneapolis to take on the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday. The Vikings were facing some quarterback questions with Kirk Cousins under center, but with the running back skills of Dalvin Cook, the Raiders could not hang. The Raiders could not contain the NFL’s current leading rusher allowing 110 yards on 16 carries. Derek Carr had a fine outing going 27 of 34 for 242 yards. He tossed two touchdowns but also threw an interception.
This game was never in question as the Vikings had a fast 21-0 start and ultimately this game ended in a 34-14 blowout dropping the Raiders to 1-2 on the season. The one positive note for the Raiders is that tight end Darren Waller continues to impress as he went for 134 yards on 13 receptions.
The Raiders did not escape injury-free although the ones reported were relatively minor. Backup linebacker Marquel Lee injured his ankle and did not return to the game. Vontaze Burfict missed a portion of the game due to an elbow injury but returned in the third quarter. Finally, linebacker Nicholas Morrow received an injury in the third quarter and did not return. The Raiders’ linebacker group is definitely banged up. We will see how that impacts things down the road.
Next week, the Raiders travel to Indianapolis to take on the Colts. The Colts were the talk of the town coming into this season with the retirement of Andrew Luck, but the emergence of Jacoby Brissett has silenced many of the doubters. At 2-1 in the AFC South, the Colts are looking to continue their run towards the playoff rallying behind Brissett.
The Raiders are looking to turn their season around during a tough stretch of road games that takes them out of Oakland for weeks. I do not believe in the Raiders’ ability to win on the road,and I believe this will be a fairly easy game for the Colts. Game time is 12:00 p.m.