KC Chiefs: What we learned about the AFC West after week 3 of 2020
The AFC West went 1-3 this week with the KC Chiefs being the only team to secure a victory and doing so against the toughest opponent. What did we learn about the four teams in the division?
Another week is in the books and the Kansas City Chiefs are now in sole possession of first place in the AFC West. This isn’t something I thought would happen this early on in the season, but here we are.
Let’s take a look at what we learned about all four AFC West teams this week. We’ll go in order from when they played, meaning the Las Vegas Raiders are up first!
What did we learn about the Las Vegas Raiders?
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After an exciting win against the Saints on Monday Night Football to open up their new digs, the Raiders hit the road to face the new-look Patriots. Facing just a three-point deficit at half time, the Raiders turned the ball over three times and that proved costly when it was all said and done.
The game wasn’t nearly as lopsided as the score would indicate, as the Raiders had just three less first downs than that of the Patriots, but New England possessed the ball for nearly nine minutes longer and they took care of the football better.
Derek Carr had probably his best game of the season, going 24 of 32 for 261 yards and two touchdowns while getting sacked twice. He was forced to air it out more due to his team playing from behind in the second half, which is why his numbers are higher obviously.
Josh Jacobs and Darren Waller were both banged up a bit heading into this one. Jacobs finished the day with 16 carries for 71 yards and a costly fumble while Waller had just two catches for nine yards.
The Raiders defense didn’t allow for Cam Newton to have a big day, but they were gashed on the ground by Sony Michel, who rushed for 117 yards on just nine carries. Oh and Rex Burkhead scored three total touchdowns against the Raiders D (two rushing, one receiving – Go Big Red!).
What we learned about the Raiders is that their offense definitely is more fearsome when Jacobs and Waller are both healthy. We also learned that they can be slowed down (not that Chiefs fans didn’t already know that) and that the defense is definitely suspect.
Next up: Las Vegas hosts their second ever game when the 3-0 Buffalo Bills come to town in the late window of games. If the Raiders can hand Buffalo its first loss of the season, people might start to buy into Vegas as a playoff contender.