AFC West Preview – Week Three
By Craig Hurst
September 30 2012; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Broncos center J.D. Walton (50) prepares to snap the football during second quarter of the game against the Oakland Raiders at Sports Authority Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
Week three of the season starts with an undefeated AFC West team, the Kansas City Chiefs, on the national stage, while week three ends with another undefeated AFC West team, the Denver Broncos, hosting their arch rival, the Oakland Raiders on Monday Night Football. For more thoughts on these games, as well as the other game featuring an AFC West team, please continue reading.
Kansas City Chiefs at Philadelphia Eagles: Andy Reid visits his old stomping ground when he brings his 2-0 Chiefs to the city of brotherly love. I am sure that new coach Chip Kelly, the Eagles players, and the fans will not feel like sharing any love considering they will be only four days removed from a last second loss to another AFC West team, the San Diego Chargers, in week two. The Kansas City Chiefs, however, will be looking to beat last season’s win total by improving to 3-0 and beating another NFC East team. In week two the Chiefs won their home opener by beating the Dallas Cowboys by a single point, 17-16. In the first two games the Chiefs have played turnover free football which has allowed them to start the season with two straight wins. The week three match up in Philadelphia will definitely be Kansas City’s biggest challenge of the young season and no doubt, Coach Reid may not say it, but I’m pretty sure that he will be a bit more motivated this game since he has an opportunity to beat his former employer on national television.
Oakland Raiders at Denver Broncos: Week three comes to an end with the first battle of the season between AFC West teams. The 2-0 Broncos welcome the 1-1 Raiders to Mile High for Monday Night Football. These two teams are accustomed to facing off on the first day of the work week, as they have faced each other a total of sixteen times on Monday Night Football; the Broncos hold a slight edge in the Monday night games winning eight times to Oakland’s seven victories. The original Monday night meeting between these two teams occurred on October 22, 1973 and resulted in a 23-23 tie. The Raiders enter week three fresh off their only victory of the season, 19-9 over the Jacksonville Jaguars, while the Broncos enter week three undefeated, after soundly beating the Baltimore Ravens and New York Giants the first two weeks of the season. While the number of wins is ultimately the most important stat, the broncos are ranked second in offensive yards/game (463.0) and first in points scored (90). Hopefully the Broncos will start off fast offensively unlike their previous two games. If that is the case, I can’t think of a better team to do that against but the black-and-silver. Some say this rivalry has lost some of its luster but I am confident the Mile High crowd will be ready and primed for this divisional contest!
San Diego Chargers at Tennessee Titans: The Chargers, possibly still buzzing over their last second 33-30 victory over the Eagles, hit the road once again, this time to face another AFC team, the Tennessee Titans. The Titans, also 1-1, unlike the Chargers are coming off a loss; 30-24 against the Houston Texans. In a two week period, San Diego and Tennessee have both faced the Texans and both have been beaten, which makes me believe this should be a pretty close game. Considering that the Chargers have shown glimpses of being a sound football team, I hope Tennessee can improve their record to 2-1 by finding a way to beat San Diego, thus helping out the Broncos in the big picture.
Go Broncos – beat the Raiders!
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