Let’s look at the AFC West picture as the Chiefs handle their business, the Raiders fizzle out, and the Chargers surprise.
Welcome back to another edition of Around the AFC West. What a wacky week it was. As followers of the greatest team on earth, the Kansas City Chiefs, we are all very used to the Raiders choking and we should all be used to the Chargers Chargering.
However, this week was a bit different. The Chiefs (barely) handled their business against the Broncos and all the Chargers had to do was lose in order to hand the Chiefs another AFC West crown. But they just couldn’t…before we get into that, let’s take a look at the rest of the AFC and see how everything played out this week.
Las Vegas Raiders
The Las Vegas Raiders had what appeared to be an easy opponent in the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday Night Football. The Rams have been decimated with injuries following their Super Bowl win and walked into the game wondering if John Wolford would start or if newly acquired Baker Mayfield would lead them. Wolford started the game and was quickly replaced by Mayfield when it became clear that he was still dinged up.
The Raiders were facing a quarterback that had been in the facility less than 48 hours. All signs pointed to a slaughtering, right? Wrong. When you are the Raiders, nothing is a given.
Enter Baker Mayfield. He led the Rams back from a 16-3 deficit to orchestrate a two-minute drill and ultimately win the game.
here's my breakdown of Baker Mayfield leading the Rams on a game winning drive then headbutting everyone in sight pic.twitter.com/YJ7jOXV8Ap
— Mike Camerlengo (@MCamerlengo) December 12, 2022
Honestly, we should have expected it. The Raiders find new and exciting ways to win every single week. First, it was to Jeff Saturday who, prior to the Raiders game, had never coached at the college or professional levels and stepped in with less than a week to prepare. Now it is Mayfield who probably hadn’t even met everyone on the team.
Derek Carr is responsible for a good amount of the problems the Raiders had. I mean, you just can’t make these throws and expect to win games…
Derek Carr 😬 pic.twitter.com/VizC3RDs5Q
— PFF (@PFF) December 9, 2022
Normally, for Thursday games, I am not paying close attention and fall asleep before the end of the game, but this one held my attention to the very end. The Raiders have now effectively put away any playoff hopes in a season when way too many people had picked them to with the AFC West. Shows what they know…
Next week, the Raiders get the Patriots. The Patriots are still in contention for a playoff spot and this game becomes more interesting given the fact that it is Josh McDaniels vs. Bill Belichick. The master vs. the apprentice. I think the Raiders get outdueled in this one and watch their season slip away. Merry Christmas to us all!