Around the AFC West: Raiders carry momentum into key matchup with Chiefs
By Ellen Mathis
Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos traveled to Las Vegas to take on the Raiders. The Broncos are an absolute dumpster fire right now. Not only have they been riddled with injuries this season, it’s also becoming clearer with each passing week that Drew Lock just might not have it.
Lock struggled mightily on Sunday. He tossed 4 interceptions. I will say, however, that one was just an incredibly athletic play by the Raiders.
https://twitter.com/thecheckdown/status/1328132353160486913
The others INTs were bad. At the beginning of the year, I thought that the Broncos had enough talent on their team to really be competitive in the AFC West. Boy, was I wrong.
Lock did get injured in the game which may have played a part in his poor performance, but it is inexcusable. John Elway may need to consider drafting a quarterback in the upcoming draft. The talent is there, but Lock just can’t execute.
In addition, it looks like other members of the team may have given up. Rookie wide receiver Jerry Jeudy looked like he gave up on a route during a 2 point conversion try. If he had run the route precisely and had his head in the game, they likely would have converted. It just shows how the Broncos feel about this season.
After Sunday’s game, the Broncos fell to 3-6 on the year which somehow still has them at 3rd in the AFC West. This is only because of the Chargers’ unexplainable ability to lose games in unique fashion, but it is clear, if you watch, that they should be in last place. The Chargers are much more competitive than the Broncos.
I’ve lost track of the number of additional injuries the Broncos have, but it is clear that they should probably just consider waiving the white flag on this season. With Lock injured, it appears that we may see another Brett Rypien game. Maybe that will be enough to spark someone to step up? I doubt it.
The Broncos are hosting the suddenly hot Dolphins on Sunday. The Dolphins, behind rookie quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, are out performing expectations and have a real shot at the playoffs and possibly even the division. I don’t anticipate the Broncos coming out of this with a win. They’ll probably be lucky to come out of it with a touchdown.
Game time is 3:05 p.m.