Week 15 AFC West Roundup
A weekly update on the AFC West, to keep up with the Oakland Raiders and the rest of the division.
What a weekend for the Oakland Raiders. Not only did they clinch their first playoff bid since 2002 by beating the Chargers in San Diego, but the Raiders also regained control over the AFC West as the Kansas City Chiefs got beat by a kicker they once cut, and the Denver Broncos continue to make offensive football look downright offensive.
When the smoke cleared only the Raiders emerged victorious from the AFC West, first place back in their hands and their playoff destiny firmly theirs.
There are two games left in the NFL season. The Raiders have clinched a playoff spot and have a one-game lead on the Chiefs with two to play. Win out, the division is theirs guaranteed.
The Chiefs are in good shape with a 10-4 record and firmly in the first wild-card spot. The Broncos are not. They lost on Sunday to drop out of the second wild-card spot and are currently a game behind Miami. They’re also tied with Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Houston and Tennessee with an 8-5 record.
So there’s a logjam for the final wild card position. The Raiders are in. The Chiefs are close. The division is still up for grabs, but far more within the Raiders grasp than a week ago.
Dec 18, 2016; San Diego, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders cornerback David Amerson (29) celebrates with strong safety T.J. Carrie (38) outside linebacker Bruce Irvin (51) and defensive tackle Darius Latham (75) after stopping San Diego Chargers wide receiver Tyrell Williams (16) short of a first down during the fourth quarter at Qualcomm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports
Oakland Raiders
1st Place – AFC West
Record: 11-3
Last Game: Defeated San Diego Chargers (5-9) 19-16 in San Diego
Next game: home to Indianapolis Colts (7-7) Sat, Dec 24 – 4:25 EST
The Raiders fell from the #1 seed in the AFC to the #5 seed when they lost to the Chiefs, losing their division lead in the process. As KC has beaten Oakland twice this season, they own any tie-breaker needed against the Raiders.
But they also needed to keep pace with the Raiders to maintain that lead. They weren’t able to against Tennessee at home on Sunday, opening the door for the Raiders. The game-winning kick by Ryan Succop is a story in itself.
The Raiders played their usual de facto home game in San Diego. A good 70% of the crowd at Qualcomm sported silver & black. Philip Rivers relied on a silent snap count at times — in his home stadium.
Yeah, the Chargers can’t get out of San Diego fast enough. And most San Deigans couldn’t care less.
The Raiders used a complete team game in this one to beat the Chargers. They ran 61 plays — 32 pass plays and 29 run plays. Perfect balance.
They limited the Chargers to 268 yards total, including a paltry 73 rushing yards on 3.3 YPC. The defense had three straight three-and-outs in the second half and kept the team in the game while the offense stagnated at times.
Latavius Murray had 81 hard fought ground yards, and Derek Carr made plays when needed. The Raiders pulled off yet another close, fourth-quarter comeback to win 19-16 and seize first place back in the AFC West.
This weekend, they host a Colts team who have been on fire in two of their last three games.
Three weeks ago they torched the lowly Jets, which is no big deal. But last weekend they strafed the normally defensively sound Minnesota Vikings for 36 points. They probably could’ve broken 50.
Andrew Luck has been fantastic since coming back from a concussion in Week 12. The Raiders need to get pressure on Luck, because he’s not the same QB when he’s got happy feet.
The Raiders will need to stymie an ageless Frank Gore in the run game and get pressure on Luck to limit the Colts offensive possibilities. In T.Y. Hilton and Philip Dorsett the Colts have two shifty, speed receivers that give big corners Sean Smith and David Amerson trouble.
The Colts also seem to find random tight ends to score touchdowns and screw fantasy owners alike. Earlier in the season it was Jack Doyle. Then Duane Allen had one huge game. Last week it was someone named Erik Swoope. Another former basketball player turned tight end. From the U.
Ho-hum. It all adds up to a potentially explosive matchup between two potent offenses and two defenses prone to giving up big plays.
The Raiders need this one badly to keep pace with the New England Patriots — who will most likely destroy the Jets this weekend. With Denver and Kansas City playing each other, another Raider win would either clinch the division or eliminate the Broncos. Either way, sweetness.
Dec 8, 2016; Kansas City, MO, USA; Oakland Raiders punter Marquette King (7) points at Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce (87) after a Chiefs touchdown during the first half at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports
Kansas City Chiefs
2nd Place – AFC West
Record: 10-4
Last Game: lost to Tennessee Titans (8-6) 19-17 at home
Next Game: home to Denver Broncos (8-6) Sun, Dec 25, 8:30 pm EST
When the Chiefs beat the Raiders to take over first in the AFC West, it was a bit of a precarious lead.
Precarious because it wasn’t separated by anything other than a tie-breaker — both teams had the same record. That meant the Chiefs would have to match the Raiders win for win to capture the division.
On Sunday, they couldn’t do that. Not even the first week in.
After squandering an early lead by gaining a whopping 38 yards in the third quarter, the Chiefs watched as a player they cut three years ago trotted out in impossible conditions to attempt a kick.
Ryan Succop would say after the game that he “cried like a baby” after this kick because of the degree of difficulty, the love he has for his current teammates, and the sweetness of sticking it to his former team.
But he was candid about the kick. He didn’t believe he could make it.
In fact his first attempt from 53 yards in -8 wind chill fell short. Well short. Which usually happens when it’s that cold and you’re basically kicking a frozen rock.
But the Walrus called a timeout to “ice” Succop. How you can “ice” someone in -8 degree weather is beyond me. It didn’t work. Kick good. Raiders in first place. Chiefs sickened by their second loss in their last three at home.
The Chiefs should be mildly concerned. They couldn’t move the ball on Sunday, and when they did, they turned it over twice. That’s five turnovers in their past two games, which is very uncharacteristic.
They got the ball to Tyreek Hill once on Sunday. Once. He scored a 68-yard touchdown. Once.
Come on man!
Justin Houston had no stats. None. Derrick Johnson is injured. Consequently DeMarco Murray and Derrick Henry ran all over the Chiefs for 147 yards on 27 carries (5.4 YPC). Their linebackers can’t stop the run right now.
And they have the Broncos coming in to Arrowhead this weekend, followed by a close-out battle in San Diego against the Chargers. Win both, the Raiders must also win out to win the division. Lose one, and the Raiders are in control.
Not to mention that Miami, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Tennessee, and/or Houston all have a chance to finish with 10 wins. The Chiefs win one more, they clinch a playoff spot. But they lose this weekend and things get very interesting in the AFC playoff picture.
Nov 6, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Denver Broncos quarterback Trevor Siemian (13) is tackled by Oakland Raiders defensive tackle Darius Latham (75) after throwing an incomplete pass in the fourth quarter at Oakland Coliseum. The Raiders defeated the Broncos 30-20. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports
Denver Broncos
3rd Place – AFC West
Record: 8-5
Last Game: Lost 16-3 to New England Patriots (12-2) in Denver
Next Game: at Kansas City Chiefs (10-4) Sun, Dec 25 – 8:30 pm EST
Man the Broncos offense is terrible. They can’t run the ball. Trevor Siemian can make some throws, but not consistently. Their offensive line can’t protect. They can’t run block.
The Patriots defense is excellent, and possibly one of the more underrated units in the league. However, they are not ‘hold a team to three points and make them look jayvee bad’ level good. They are not the 2000 Ravens or ’86 Bears or even the ’07 Patriots.
Yet they looked like they’d invented defense on Sunday. Denver looked absolutely lost every time they possessed the ball. The Broncos were a putrid 16% (2 for 12) on third down. They had 309 yards of offense. They lost two fumbles. It was ugly.
On a day in which their defense held Tom Brady to 50% completion, under 200 yards and no touchdowns — the Broncos lost handily. That’s offensive, and more due to their inability to run the ball than anything else.
Since taking over as lead back, Devontae Booker has not recorded a 100 yard game. He’s averaged 3.2 yards per carry. He’s run hard, but hasn’t had any holes to run through.
The Denver defense is still stellar but not quite the elite unit it was last season. As a result, they are losing these games rather than winning them. And as a result risk missing the playoffs a year after winning the Super Bowl.
The Dolphins are one up on them, the Chiefs two games. The Broncos are in desperate need of a win in Kansas City this weekend, or their chances are likely done.
Dec 18, 2016; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Chargers defensive end Joey Bosa (99) looks across the line during the third quarter against the Oakland Raiders at Qualcomm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports
San Diego Chargers
4th Place – AFC West
Last game: Lost to Oakland Raiders (11-3) 19-16 in San Diego
Next game: at Cleveland Browns (0-14) Sat, Dec 24 – 1 pm EST
The Chargers just can’t get anything going this season. Injuries, poor line play, turnovers and strange mistakes at inopportune times have cost this team an entire season.
Having the chance to play spoiler against the Raiders on Sunday, the Chargers instead stagnated in the fourth quarter and squandered yet another late lead to have the Raiders march out victorious.
At this point it looks like San Diego is going to lose the Chargers. There are some Charger fans that are extremely loyal and hardcore – they will be sad. There are others — say 99% of the football population — that really could care less.
However, losing San Diego to LA is garbage. The Oakland Raiders vs. the LA Chargers. The former LA Raiders vs the current LA Chargers. The LV Raiders vs the LA Chargers.
None of it works as well as Oak vs SD.
The Chargers can still be players in the AFC West race in week 17, when they host the KC Chiefs. With the Raiders playing in Denver that night, divisional games will decide the AFC West champion.
Rivers used a silent snap count against the Raiders. At home. Raider plays were roundly cheered, Charger plays roundly golf-clapped. It was a Raider home game. Who wants to play in that environment, anyway?
Philip Rivers doesn’t want to uproot his 93 children at this point which is understandable, and his 50’s soda jerk routine doesn’t have a lot of cache in a place like L.A. Rivers hokey, nice-guy persona just doesn’t work in a city that devours the tears of failed actresses faster than the heroin that caused them.
This weekend will go a long way to clarifying the AFC playoff picture, but there is one thing we know for certain: the Raiders are in already.
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