Around the AFC West: Is this the NFL’s worst division?

Let’s take another trip around the AFC West. As we see three teams fall and only one win, it leaves us to wonder if this is the worst division in the NFL?

Welcome back to another edition of Around the AFC West. While this week was certainly disappointing for Chiefs fans, at least we can still say we are on top!

The AFC West is looking like one of the weaker divisions this year which is good since the Chiefs are struggling to keep players healthy and on the field. With that being said, let’s take a look at the bad teams in the division before we jump into looking at the best in the West.

Oakland Raiders

The Oakland Raiders took on the Houston Texans on Sunday and were handed yet another loss. The Raiders can’t seem to shake the Houdini moves that some of the up and coming quarterbacks make.

The star of this show was Deshaun Watson. He sealed the game with a touchdown throw after getting blinded by a kick to the face. According to Watson, he knew where his tight end was going to be and chucked it into the end zone. The only reason he knew it was a catch was because he heard the crowd erupt. He wasn’t able to see.

For the Raiders, Derek Carr had a good day. He threw for 285 yards and 3 touchdowns, tossing them to Hunter Renfrow, Darren Waller, and Tyrell Williams. Unfortunately, that just wasn’t enough and the Raiders fell to 3-4 on the season.

This was the Gareon Conley revenge game. He was traded just last week to the Texans and was motivated against his old team. He came through with a critical pass break up on third down.

This game, however, was largely overshadowed by the loss of J.J. Watt. Watt went down with a season ending torn pectoral muscle. That injury was truly the story of the game. For the Raiders, defensive end Josh Mauro left with a groin injury and center Rodney Hudson left with an ankle injury. No word on the severity.

Next week, the Raiders host the Detroit Lions. The Lions are a perpetually average team. Never good, never bad. The Raiders have to win if they have any hopes of playoffs and hanging with the Chiefs. That being said, I do think the Raiders will pull this off given the need to win. The Lions will continue their march to 8-8.

Opening line odds for the Raiders in Week 9: Raiders by 2.

Game time is 3:05 p.m.