AFC West Preview – Week Eight

The Oakland Raiders and Kansas City Chiefs are set to face each other again in this AFC West divisional rivalry. Both teams are desperate for a win to avoid the season totally spiraling out of control. The Raiders have won the last five times they have visited Arrowhead Stadium. (Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-US PRESSWIRE)

Prior to kickoff of the Saints and Broncos on Sunday Night Football, the three other AFC West teams will be in action.  The 3-3 San Diego Chargers will attempt to rebound after their horrific Monday night collapse against the Broncos when they travel to Cleveland to face the 1-6 Browns, while the 2-4 Raiders and 1-5 Chiefs will continue their divisional rival at Arrowhead Stadium.  Please continue reading for my brief synopsis and thoughts on the week eight games featuring teams from the AFC West.

San Diego Chargers at Cleveland Browns: I don’t know what to expect from the Chargers considering that the last game they played the team had a good half of football, and an absolutely horrible half of football that ultimately cost them the game.  My assumption would be that the Chargers, like most successful professional football players and teams, have a short memory and will be focused only on the Cleveland Browns.  Cleveland enters this game with a 1-6 record and is coming off of a 17-13 loss to the Indianapolis Colts in week seven.  The Browns defense did a relatively good job of keeping Colts QB, Andrew Luck in check, but they did give up nearly 150 rushing yards.  I would expect the Browns may keep the game close for awhile; however, the Chargers have a lot of offensive weapons so I am going to give the Chargers the win.  If that comes to fruition, it means that the Broncos must take care of business when they face the Saints in order to keep their divisional lead.

Oakland Raiders at Kansas City Chiefs: Both teams have less than impressive records at this point in the season but I am still looking forward to watching this game between AFC West rivals.  Despite the dismal records (combined, they are 3-9 through seven weeks), I know both teams will be ready to play because to be blunt, they just don’t like each other.  The emotion will carry them a bit but it will ultimately come down to execution and who will do it better on this October Sunday! Both teams, in my opinion, have a huge question mark at the quarterback position.  For now, the Chiefs are content with Brady Quinn at the helm, but I don’t believe this is the long term answer for them.  The Raiders, on the other hand, have turned the reigns over to Carson Palmer, hoping he can be somewhat of a savior to an organization that appears to be very far away from establishing consistent winning.  At times, Palmer has flashes of brilliancy, and at other times he appears to be a quarterback not worthy of starting in the NFL.  The Raiders do have an offensive weapon in Darren McFadden, even though he has had a very quiet 2012 season up to this point.  Maybe week eight is when he breaks loose and carries the team on his back, rather than relying on Palmer and his arm? Even though both teams will be battling to stay out of last place in the AFC west, I am confident that Chief fans will make a lot noise, making it difficult at times for the Raiders.  Picking a winner for this game is difficult.  Given what I’ve seen from both of these teams this season, I would recommend flipping a coin and going with that.  Because I will likely utilize Carson Palmer as my fantasy quarterback, I will pull for the Raiders.

New Orleans Saints at Denver Broncos:  Drew Brees, Peyton Manning, Sunday Night Football in Denver – enough said!

Enjoy week eight Bronco fans!

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