AFC West Preview – Week Six

Oct 5, 2014; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Broncos running back Juwan Thompson (40) scores a touchdown during the second half against the Arizona Cardinals at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. The Broncos won 41-20. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports

It is hard to believe but the Denver Broncos have already completed 25% of their regular season games! One-quarter of the way through the season and the Broncos find themselves sitting at 3-1 with a trip to New Jersey against the New York Jets on the docket for week six. For my thoughts and prediction on this game, as well as that other games featuring teams from the AFC West, please continue reading.

Denver Broncos at New York Jets: Die-hard Bronco fans will never forget the last trip the Broncos made to New Jersey – even if they want to; it was Super Bowl XLVIII and the Seattle Seahawks absolutely crushed the Broncos 43-8. I don’t believe in superstition so I don’t think that game will have an impact on the week six game against the Jets just because it is being played in the same stadium. I think the one similarity between Super Bowl XLVIII and this weeks game may be the score, but this time the Broncos could very likely be the team scoring 43 points. Based on week five performances from the Broncos and Jets, leads me to believe that the Broncos should improve to 4-1, while the Jets drop to 1-5. The Broncos rewrote a lot of records in their 41-20 victory over the Arizona Cardinals, while the Jets were thrashed 31-0 by the San Diego Chargers. One difference in week six is that the Broncos are on the road and the Jets are at home – week five this was not the case. Will this impact the game? That is hard to tell! I am forgoing statistical analysis this week in an attempt to determine if the Broncos will win, or by how much. I am just going to look forward to the game and hope the Broncos are able to come back to Colorado with a victory. In my opinion, there is no such thing as an easy victory in the NFL so I will take a one point victory – I don’t need a Bronco blowout to be satisfied. I am interested to see how close Peyton Manning gets to Brett Favres record of 508 career touchdown passes. Five or six touchdowns from Peyton Manning is not unrealistic. The Broncos rushing attack will be another part of the game I am anxious to see. I am hoping Juwan Thompson gets more opportunities and takes full advantage of those opportunities. Thompson is listed as probable for Sundays game due to a knee injury but is expected to play.

San Diego Chargers at Oakland Raiders: Like the Broncos, it appears the Chargers have an easy game before them in week six but you never know. The Chargers are having a great year and find themselves at 4-1 and in first place in the division. The Raiders, on the other hand, continue to dwell in the bottom of the division at 0-4. The Raiders are coming off of their bye week so they’ve had two weeks for new interim head coach Tony Sparano to get settled in and attempt to right the black-and-silver ship, if that’s possible. Unfortunately, at some point fans start accepting a team’s performance and just look for a glimpse out of a lost season here or there. When an AFC West team comes to town, that is one of those moments. Raider fans would be ecstatic if their team could hand the Chargers and Philip Rivers a loss! While I am always torn when two AFC West teams play each other, I am hoping that Raider fans go home happy on Sunday. The Chargers are playing well and if this continues, they will be battling the Broncos for the division championship (assuming the Broncos take care of their business) so I want to see San Diego lose some of their games, especially divisional games. I have seen this week that there has been talk of the Raiders possibly switching to the NFC West…. I hope that doesn’t happen just to keep the long-term rivalries intact.

Kansas City Chiefs: Bye (At least I will not have to hear from Chief fans on Monday morning about a Chiefs victory!)

Go Broncos – beat the Jets!

Make sure to follow Predominantly Orange on Facebook.