KC Chiefs: What we learned about each team in AFC West after week one

WHAT DID WE LEARN ABOUT THE RAIDERS?

Since we already touched on the Raiders a bit considering they played Denver on Monday, let’s tackle them next, why don’t we?

No one had high hopes for the Raiders this year, especially after Antonio Brown bounced for the Patriots. Well, the Raiders quieted critics after shutting out the Broncos at half time and looking halfway decent in their week one victory.

They cruised to a 24-16 victory over AFC West rival Denver and looked pretty good in the process. Derek Carr went 22 of 26 (he only had four incompletions) for 259 yards and one touchdown with zero interceptions. He wasn’t sacked at all either, which is a big thing for Carr, as the year he almost won MVP was a result of him having a dominant offensive line.

Rookie Josh Jacobs made his NFL regular season debut and shined bright, rushing for 85 yards off 23 carries and proved to be the workhorse for the Raiders. Jacobs also had two rushing touchdowns in his debut.

Receiving wise, Tyrell Williams took advantage of not having Brown out there, grabbing six catches for 105 yards and plowing into the end zone once. Darren Waller also had a good game, catching seven passes for 70 yards.

The defense looked much improved, sacking Joe Flacco three times with Benson Mayowa getting two of those sacks) and rookie Clellin Ferrell notching the other sack. The Raiders pressured Flacco all night long and looked like a much different defense than what we’ve been used to watching over the years.

While I wouldn’t get excited about the Raiders anytime soon, they at least might win a few more games than people had initially thought. Oakland hosts our very own KC Chiefs in the Black Hole in the later slate of games on Sunday.