Silver Minings: AFC West Week 1 roundup

It was a tough season opener for the Las Vegas Raiders after losing to the Los Angeles Chargers 24-19. Unfortunately, the Raiders’ weekend got even worse as the Kansas City Chiefs won, putting Las Vegas behind the eightball in the AFC West.

Kansas City Chiefs 44 Arizona Cardinals 21

Key Stats:

• Patrick Mahomes: 30-39, 360 yards, 5 TDs, 0 INTs
• Isiah Pacheco: 12 carries, 62 yards, 1 TD
• Travis Kelce: 8 catches, 121 yards, 1 TD
• JuJu Smith-Schuster: 6 catches, 79 yards, 1 TD
• Nick Bolton: 10 total tackles, 1 TFL
• Chris Jones: 1 total tackle, 1 PD

This was an absolutely dominating effort by Mahomes and the Chiefs. No Tyreek Hill, no problem as Kansas City’s offense nearly put up 500 yards. Their defense was stout as well as the Cardinals only had seven points going into the fourth quarter and had a couple of late touchdowns to make the scoreboard look a little prettier.

Arizona has been a dysfunctional mess this offseason so next week should be a better litmus test for how good the Chiefs are this season and, in a way, give us a sense of how far off the Raiders are from them. Or if they are at all.

Next game: vs Chargers (TNF)

Denver Broncos, Seattle Seahawks (MNF)

TBD, kickoff at 5:15 pm PST on ESPN

Next game: vs. Houston Texans

AFC West standings:

t1. Chiefs 1-0

t1. Chargers 1-0

3. Broncos 0-0

4. Raiders 0-1 (1 GB)

In other Raiders links:

• Five things we learned: check out Bill Williamson’s takeaways for the Raiders from yesterday’s disappointing contest.
• Khalil Mack calls Derek Carr a brother: “I mean the people that I didn’t like probably aren’t there anymore,” Mack said, via Joe Reedy of the Associated Press. “I’ll always have respect for the organization.”
• Darren Waller grateful after extension: “Grateful to be here, grateful to be a part of this team, organization, for a long time to come,” Waller said.
• Tape Don’t Lie instant reaction: check out what the TDL boys thought of the season opener.