Around the AFC West: Chiefs maintain supremacy atop division

Let’s take a look at the divisional battle between the Chiefs and Chargers, the surging Raiders and the still stumbling Broncos.

Welcome back to another edition of Around the AFC West. Yet again, my Chiefs leave me with shorter nails as I spent the majority of Monday’s game biting them down to nubs. I could really use a blowout win if, for nothing else, the sake of my nail health.

It wasn’t pretty, that’s for sure, but the Chiefs managed to maintain their hold on the top spot in what has become a hotly contested AFC West race. Let’s take a look around the division to see how our foes did in this crucial Week 11.

Oakland Raiders

The Raiders hosted the flailing Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday and, despite what national pundits would have you believe, I’m just not sure they looked as “hot” as everyone thinks. Maybe I’m biased, but they certainly cannot be considered the apple of the AFC when they beat a winless team by only one touchdown. However, they did win and that puts them in serious playoff contention. I never would have imagined that at the beginning of the year (Let’s not forget this is the same team that dealt with Antonio Brown’s feet.)

The offense did not look sharp, while coughing up 2 turnovers, including one in the red zone, by rookie running back Josh Jacobs. The key difference in this game was Oakland’s defense—in particular, rookie fourth round pick Maxx Crosby. Crosby became just the fourth rookie in NFL history to record 4 sacks in a single game. This really has been a stellar draft for the Raiders and they are without one of their high picks due to injury. I hate to say it, but it does feel like Jon Gruden may have gotten something right.

The Raiders came out of this game healthy. They did not lose anyone to injury, which is good news heading into the back part of the season. Their schedule is also relatively easy down the stretch, so it means they will likely enter a wild card playoff spot with a very strong roster.

Next week, the Raiders travel to New York to take on the Jets. The Jets have certainly struggled this year, but are led by an nice young quarterback in Sam Darnold. One factor to watch is if the travel will impact the Raiders at all. They haven’t been on the road in a while after their 40+ day road trip and this will be a game played earlier in the day. Despite that, I do think the Raiders walk out with a win and make their next game (at the Chiefs) even more crucial.

Opening line odds for the Raiders in Week 12: -3.0.

Game time is 12:00 p.m.