KC Chiefs: What we learned about each team in AFC West after week 8
The KC Chiefs dropped a game to the Packers this weekend, but they didn’t lose much ground in the AFC West. Let’s check out how the other teams in the division did in week eight of the regular season.
Another week of NFL action is in the books and all four teams in the AFC West played closely contested games in week eight. The Kansas City Chiefs put up a hard fought battle against the Packers even without their MVP quarterback, the Denver Broncos narrowly lost to the Colts, the Raiders fell in Houston, and the Chargers left the Windy City with a W.
What did we learn about each AFC West team this week? Let’s start with the teams who lost.
WHAT DID WE LEARN ABOUT THE BRONCOS?
By this point, we know the Broncos offense is pretty awful and that shone through against the Colts.
Their defense has played well for the most part, but the moment they couldn’t finish off the sack of Jacoby Brissett in the end zone for what would have been a safety and he was then able to connect with T.Y. Hilton down the sideline for a long gain summed up Denver’s season perfectly. They wound up losing 15-13 to a team that they had on the ropes throughout the game.
Even with that play occurring and the Colts ultimately winning the game, the Denver defense has been playing well. They sacked Brissett four times in this game and that Colts offensive line is no slouch. He’s one of the better protected quarterbacks in the league and Denver put pressure on him all afternoon.
The Broncos offense once again held them back, but it had its moments this week to try and put the game away. They had a chance to try and ice the game, but on a third and five opted to run up the middle, which was stopped.
They punted it back to Indianapolis, who then marched down the field and Adam Vinatieri, who had two misses in the game (one field goal attempt and one extra point attempt) knocked it through for the win. Joe Flacco was none too pleased about the lack of aggressiveness from his play callers.
This is now the third time through eight games that the Broncos have lost on a last second field goal. Their offense didn’t do much, no, but when you’re 2-5, the pressure is off to be conservative. They should have been more aggressive in that moment.
The Broncos look to get their third win of the year against the 2-5 Browns in Denver in the later slate of games. That could be an intriguing game and if the Broncos lose that one, their season is most definitely sunk. It doesn’t look good for them to win that one either, as Flacco is out with a neck injury, paving the way for Brandon Allen (who?) to start for Denver.