Around the AFC West: The Chiefs, Chargers and Raiders forge ahead
Oct 18, 2019, 6:47 AM | Updated: 12:39 pm
The Broncos got off to an awful start against the Chiefs on Thursday night. That awful start didn’t get any better as the offense struggled and the defense looked lost at times, leading to a Chiefs victory by a score of 30-6. The Chiefs get back on track after losing two in a row and sit atop of the division with a 5-2 record.
The AFC West is always interesting and there are some news items that Broncos fans need to keep track of. Denver may be looking ahead to their future, but first we have to take a look at what’s going on in the rest of the division.
Let’s take a spin around the AFC West to see what the competition is up to.
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Kansas City Chiefs
The Chiefs are going to be without superstar quarterback Patrick Mahomes for quite some time. After the Chiefs ran a quarterback sneak in the second quarter, Mahomes injured his knee and had to be helped off the field. Once to the sidelines, Mahomes was able to walk into the locker room under his own power.
It wasn’t long after that it was revealed that Mahomes would not be returning to the game. He was replaced by veteran Matt Moore as the Chiefs went on to beat the Broncos on Thursday night.
Hearing early indications are that Patrick Mahomes has a dislocated knee but at the moment it looks like it isn’t fractured, per a source. MRI coming tomorrow when we’ll know more, but it’s a positive early sign.
— Terez A. Paylor (@TerezPaylor) October 18, 2019
We’ll know more about Mahomes status when the MRI results are revealed, likely on Friday.
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Los Angeles Chargers
The Chargers are a snake-bit team. They have lost star players to injury this season, some they are still waiting to return (like safety Derwin James) and some have already returned to the field (like tight end Hunter Henry).
This week, the Chargers gain one important player back from injury and lose one role player due to injury. Chargers left tackle Russell Okung returned to practice on Thursday, coming off the Non-Football Injury list. Upon his return, Okung also got a restructured contract. His new deal with pay him $1 million per week with the goal of getting him the $13 million he was originally scheduled to earn this season before going on the NFI list.
While Okung returns, the Chargers moved wide receiver Travis Benjamin to the Injured Reserve List with a quadriceps injury. Their receiving group is thin after starters Keenan Allen and Mike Williams. They’ll especially miss Benjamin’s field-stretching speed.
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Oakland Raiders
The Raiders have a tough matchup as they travel to face the Packers in Week 7. The game is made more difficult because they are likely to be without their best receiver Tyrell Williams.
He has yet to return to practice this week due to a foot injury. Raiders head coach Jon Gruden said Wednesday that Williams is dealing with plantar fasciitis.
“Whatever that is, he has,” Gruden said. “It’s not getting much better.”
If Williams doesn’t play, expect the Raiders to feature their new wide receiver Zay Jones against the Packers. They traded the Buffalo Bills for Jones before going on a bye in Week 6.
Jones could get some work, and so could tight end Darren Waller. A relative unknown before the start of the regular season, Waller has played well this year for the Raiders. He’s played so well that the Raiders signed him to a three-year contract extension through the 2023 season. Reports say the deal is worth around $9 million annually. Set to be a free agent next spring, the Raiders had seen enough and found a way to wrap up their budding tight end to a long-term deal.
