KC Chiefs: What we learned about the AFC West after Week 11
Three AFC West teams won over the weekend, but the only one that really matters is the KC Chiefs’ victory over the Raiders.
It was an exciting weekend for the AFC West, who saw three of their four teams win games. One team was guaranteed to lose (well, I guess a tie is very possible these days), as the Kansas City Chiefs and Las Vegas Raiders squared off on Sunday Night Football.
Before those two teams took the field, the Broncos hosted the Dolphins and the Chargers hosted the Jets. Both of those games ended with the AFC West teams securing a victory and somewhat helping their playoff aspirations (not so much for the Chargers).
Let’s get to what we learned about the AFC West teams this week!
What did we learn about the Denver Broncos?
This was a weird game. Near the end of regulation, Melvin Gordon clearly fumbled the football right before the goal line and the officials called it a touchdown. It was overturned, but what a weird chain of events.
Anyway, the Broncos got back in the win column with a 20-13 victory and they did it by running the ball down Miami’s throat. Denver totaled 189 yards on 33 carries and two touchdowns with both of those touchdowns coming from Gordon. He was on his way to a third before that fumble (though the officials did what they could to try to get him the hat trick).
Drew Lock played poorly at the beginning of the game throwing yet another bad interception, but he turned things around and ended the day throwing for 270 yards. He and Tim Patrick were on the same page for most of the day, as Patrick had five receptions for 119 yards.
The defense bullied Tua Tagovailoa and he was eventually yanked in favor of Ryan Fitzpatrick, who despite leading the Dolphins down the field, threw a game-clinching interception. Denver isn’t a good team, but they beat a team who was a Wild Card team heading into this one, meaning there is some hope for this team moving forward.
That’s pretty much what we learned about the Broncos. This is a team that, when they can put everything together, they’re decent, but they still have a long way to go before rounding the corner officially. Lock still has things he needs to work on, but it’s probably a safe bet that he returns to quarterback the Broncos again next season.
Next up: The Broncos welcome in the Taysom Hill-led New Orleans Saints in the late window of games.