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Around the AFC West, Week 6: Oakland Raiders settle into second place

By Ellen Mathis

OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 09: Josh Jacobs #28 of the Oakland Raiders jumps in to the crowd after scoring his second touchdown of the game against the Denver Broncos in the fourth quarter at RingCentral Coliseum on September 09, 2019 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 09: Josh Jacobs #28 of the Oakland Raiders jumps in to the crowd after scoring his second touchdown of the game against the Denver Broncos in the fourth quarter at RingCentral Coliseum on September 09, 2019 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images) /
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CARSON, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 06: Melvin Gordon #25 of the Los Angeles Chargers comes out of the backfield during the first quarter against the Denver Broncos at Dignity Health Sports Park on October 06, 2019 in Carson, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
CARSON, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 06: Melvin Gordon #25 of the Los Angeles Chargers comes out of the backfield during the first quarter against the Denver Broncos at Dignity Health Sports Park on October 06, 2019 in Carson, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /

Los Angeles Chargers

The Chargers hosted the Denver Broncos in an AFC West showdown in Week 5. Coming into this game, the Broncos had not won a single game, and the Chargers seemed to have potentially found their footing after rolling over the tanking Miami Dolphins. (Although to be honest if you can’t beat them, should you be an NFL team?). I predicted that the Chargers would continue rolling against a team that looked like it could do absolutely nothing. I was wrong (and don’t tell my husband I am using that phrase).

The Chargers were held to no offensive touchdowns for the first time in 56 games and the Broncos forced three turnovers. This brings their number of turnovers on the year to… three.

I truly believed this would be Melvin Gordon‘s return to glory but the star running back was held to just 31 yards. Philip Rivers didn’t fare much better as he threw two interceptions. Austin Ekeler continued to be a bright spot on the Chargers’ offense turning in 15 receptions for 86 yards; he, however, coughed up the ball at the 1-yard line and contributed to this disappointing outing.

To make matters worse, Chargers center Mike Pouncey suffered a neck injury during the game and did not return. Head coach Anthony Lynn said after the game that he was concerned about the injury. It is never a good sign when the head coach expresses concern immediately after the game.

Next week, the Chargers host the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday Night Football. While this looked like it would be a great matchup, I’m not so sure it is anymore. The Steelers are without Ben Roethlisberger (season ending elbow surgery) and Mason Rudolph (who took a terrifying hit in Sunday’s game against the Ravens). That leaves undrafted Devlin Hodges out of Samford. A matchup between the 2-3 Chargers and the 1-4 Steelers is not as exciting as it should be. Oh well, I’ll still watch because who can resist a good Carrie Underwood intro?

Opening line odds for the Chargers in Week 6: -7.0.

Game time is 7:20 p.m.

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