AFC West report: COVID rears its ugly head again
By Ellen Mathis
Welcome to another AFC West Report, this one written with little glimmers of worry.
When I initially started thinking about writing this week, the theme was going to be something about how everything was going the Chiefs’ way. Well, the Monday and Tuesday news cycles really blew that idea out of the water. With COVID becoming an even more significant problem within the last week, we are staring at a Chiefs team that could be missing crucial stars.
Before we break down, if that is going to be cause for concern, let’s look at the rest of the AFC West and evaluate their weeks as we head into the final three weeks of the season.
Los Angeles Chargers
The Los Angeles Chargers hosted the Chiefs on Thursday Night Football in what was the most important game of the season for both teams. The winner would likely be the AFC West champ (before any news broke after the game). Thursday nights with the Chargers haven’t been great to the Chiefs, and this was in L.A. so things looked like they were breaking for the Chargers—not to mention the Chiefs were missing key players on their defense.
However, despite their best effort, the Chargers could not pull this one out. The Chargers gave the Chiefs fits throughout most of the game, but the greatness of Mahomes could not be denied. As the game went into overtime, the coin toss went the Chiefs’ way and Mahomes was not letting it slip away.
The question for the Chargers as they left the game was why they continued to go for it on fourth down rather than taking the points. Brandon Staley defended his decision after the game (and frankly, he has been doing this all season so good for him).
https://twitter.com/chargers/status/1471979016584187906
The trust in his players is there, and I, for one, think the Chargers have a squad that can make a deep run in the playoffs. They beat the Chiefs early (and yes, I know the Chiefs turned the ball over 4 times) and lost to the Chiefs in overtime. Regardless, this is a team that plays the Chiefs tough.
The Chargers faced major injuries that began early in the game. Donald Parham Jr. took a scary hit that required a stretcher to remove him from the field. Thankfully, he has been released and is healing.
Update: Tight End Donald Parham Jr. stayed overnight at UCLA Harbor Medical Center for observation after being diagnosed with a concussion. He is resting comfortably, alert and will likely be discharged from the hospital later today.
— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) December 17, 2021
Additionally, Derwin James suffered a hamstring injury that sidelined him in the third quarter.
Luckily, the Chargers have a pretty easy game on Sunday so maybe that gives James some time to heal? The Chargers take on the Texans on Sunday. The Texans have approximately one billion issues and COVID is just adding to those.
Texans' COVID-19 list: Jaleel Johnson, Jacob Martin, Jon Greenard, Derek Rivers, Maliek Collins, Lane Taylor, Justin McCray, Kamu Grugier-Hill, Christian Kirksey, A.J. Moore, Terrance Mitchell, Terrence Brooks, injured DeMarcus Walker, Jaylen Samuels, Cre'Von LeBlanc. https://t.co/paH7lfX5LJ
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) December 21, 2021
The Chargers appear to be getting better from their minor outbreak. I anticipate that the Chargers will stomp the Texans as they look to keep their hold on a wild card spot.