A look around the AFC West as the Chiefs grab the top spot in the division while the rest of the rivals stumble in their quest for the AFC West crown.
Oh, what a beautiful morning! I am certainly eating crow (HA…bad bird joke) this morning. I had the Chiefs dropping to the Ravens on Monday Night Football. The Chiefs hadn’t played their best and the Ravens looked almost unstoppable. Plus it was in Baltimore. Well, go ahead, prove me wrong.
Before we reflect on if any team from any decade could stop these Chiefs when they are clicking, let’s look at our AFC West divisional foes and see how their Week 3 went.
Las Vegas Raiders
The Raiders traveled to New England to take on the Patriots. After the Raiders beat the New Orleans Saints, analysts were wondering if the Raiders team was for real. Could they keep up with the likes of the Chiefs? Nope. The Patriots kicked the pants off the Raiders by using their run game and the Raiders couldn’t stop anything. The Raiders made Rex Burkhead look like Gale Sayers.
https://twitter.com/NFL/status/1310284251598696448
Derek Carr was his typical self. Put pressure on him and you are just going to make him cry and fumble the ball. One particularly egregious play saw Derek Carr initially get sacked in the end zone for a safety. But wait! It turns out that he actually fumbled and it lead to not 2 points but 6.
Carr was not good, but he was without his rookie weapon Henry Ruggs III and it didn’t help that Josh Jacobs also lost a fumble. Regardless, the Raiders can’t hope to keep up with the Chiefs in the AFC West if they play like this. The Raiders fell to 2-1 after the 36-20 beat down by the Pats.
As mentioned, Ruggs was unavailable due to injuries to his knee and hamstring and Jon Gruden has expressed concern over the injury. The Raiders also lost right tackle Trent Brown and linebacker Nick Kwiatkoski to injuries. It doesn’t appear that these will be long-term injuries, but any injury to the offensive line is going to be something to watch with Carr under center.
Next week, the Raiders host the high flying Buffalo Bills. The Bills are coming off a dramatic win over the Los Angeles Rams and quarterback Josh Allen is playing so well, he just might find himself in the MVP conversation. The Bills are considered a playoff team and will be vying with the Patriots for their division, so every game for them is a must win. Will the Raiders be able to slow them down? I doubt it.
Game time is Sunday at 3:25 p.m.