Around the AFC West: KC Chiefs wrap up division (basically)

Let’s look at two divisional matchups from this weekend as the Broncos and Raiders squared off and the Chiefs and Chargers characteristically battled.

Welcome back to another edition of Around the AFC West.

Well, folks, as we all predicted, the Chiefs have basically wrapped up the 2022 AFC West division race heading into Thanksgiving. I kid, of course, since this was supposed to be the division that was the gauntlet, the toughest in the NFL. It certainly hasn’t played out that way.

This will be a short edition because we had two divisional matchups this week, so let’s dive in with the less thrilling game between the Denver Broncos and Las Vegas Raiders.

Las Vegas Raiders and Denver Broncos

The Broncos and Raiders squared off to determine who was the most dumpster fire in the AFC West: the Raiders, who just came off a loss to Jeff Saturday, or the Broncos, who cannot do anything productive on offense after signing away the franchise to a suddenly-aged Russell Wilson. Let’s Ride! I

n this divisional showdown that no one asked for and no one wanted to watch, we were forced to observe football that really should only be played in a relegation league.

The ultimate winner was the Raiders and really the losers were all of us, since being forced to watch that horrible game was torture. Please, NFL. And to make matters worse, they forced us to watch them play in overtime. Thankfully, the Broncos’ defense forgot that Davante Adams exists and Derek Carr hit him on the third play of the extra session to solidify the Broncos as the worst team in the AFC West and the Raiders as third.

To be fair to the Raiders, we have been waiting for Davante to really go off in a game and he lit it up. Adams finished the day with 7 receptions for 141 yards and 2 touchdowns. An impressive day.

Maxx Crosby was also impressive on Sunday:

Crosby forced a fumble and blocked a field goal all while adding two sacks on a day that Russell Wilson probably wants to forget.

Next week, the Raiders take on Seattle in what will likely be a difficult matchup. Seattle has played well all season and the Raiders, while looking better on Sunday, are certainly not the team preseason analysts thought they would be. They will need to play an A game to beat Seattle but if they do, they could pull off the win. They’ll have to as their season is on the line.

The Broncos, on the other hand, are trying to make moves. They released running back Melvin Gordon, who has had fumbling problems all year. This doesn’t provide them with significant depth but maybe they can at least maintain possession of the football.

Next week, the Broncos visit struggling Carolina who just announced that Sam Darnold will be their starting quarterback. This replaces… gosh, I’m not even sure which quarterback they were on at this point. (Kidding. It was Baker Mayfield.) I mean, at this point, a team’s gotta try everything?

Playcalling duties were handed over to Klint Kubiak last week so that could help the Broncos offense. Regardless, these are two bad teams that we are going to be forced to watch. Maybe the Broncos step up.