Silver Minings: Week 3 AFC West roundup

The Las Vegas Raiders have managed to dig themselves into a deep hole in the AFC West after their Week 3 24-22 loss to the Tennessee Titans. However, the good news is two of the three other teams in the division also lost so the Raiders didn’t give up that much ground in the standings. That said, they’re still in last place and the only team still searching for its first win.

Kansas City Chiefs 17 Indianapolis Colts 20

Key Stats:

• Patrick Mahomes: 20/35, 262 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
• Jerick McKinnon: 7 carries, 20 yards
• Travis Kelce: 4 catches, 58 yards, 1 TD
• JuJu Smith Schuster: 5 catches, 89 yards
• Nick Bolton: 9 total tackles, 2 sacks, 1 TFL, 2 QB hits
• Chris Jones: 2 total tackles, 1 TFL, 1 QB hit

The Chiefs kind of just gave this one away. A botched fake field goal cost them the three points that would have sent the game to overtime, and an unsportsmanlike penalty by Jones helped set up the Colts’ game-winning touchdown. Mahomes did throw his first interception of the year and continues to look just a little off this season.

Next game: at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-1) SNF

Los Angeles Chargers 10 Jacksonville Jaguars 38

Key Stats:

• Justin Herbert: 25/45, 297 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
• Sony Michel: 5 carries, 22 yards
• Joshua Palmer: 6 catches, 99 yards
• Mike Williams: 1 catch, 15 yards
• Drue Tranquill: 12 total tackles, 1 PD
• Khalil Mack: 5 total tackles

Justin Herbert was questionable for the game with fractured ribs and probably wished he stayed in the locker room. This one wasn’t much of a contest as the Jags jumped out to a 13-0 lead and never took their foot off the gas to pull off the biggest upset of the day. The Bolts’ offense is clearly struggling without Keenan Allen as they struggled to move the ball yesterday and have now lost two in a row after beating the Raiders in the opener.

Next game: at Houston Texans (0-2-1)

Denver Broncos 11 San Francisco 49ers 10

Key Stats:

• Russell Wilson: 20/33, 184 yards, 0 TDs, 0 INTs
• Javonte Williams: 15 carries, 58 yards
• Courtland Sutton: 8 catches, 97 yards
• Jerry Jeudy: 2 catches, 17 yards
• Josey Jewell: 9 total tackles, 1 sack, 2 TFL

You don’t see a ton of 11-10 ball games in the NFL — it’s only the second one in league history — and in a way, that perfectly sums up Denver’s season so far. It hasn’t been impressive but somehow, they’ve managed to win two in a row without scoring more than one touchdown. Russell Wilson still looks like he’s figuring things out but the Broncos’ defense continues to be sharp.

Next game: at Las Vegas Raiders (0-3)

AFC West standings:

t-1. Chiefs (2-1)

t-1. Broncos (2-1)

3. Chargers (1-2)

4. Raiders (0-3)

In other Raiders links:

• Raiders open as favorites: Despite the fact they’re still looking for their first W, our friends at DraftKings Sportsbook still like the Silver and Black next weekend.
• “We all feel sh***y”: Vegas’ head coach summed up how his team and the fanbase feel about this season in one simple word during his postgame presser.
• Josh McDaniels and Mark Davis have “closed-door meeting”: That’s not exactly ideal three games into the year...
• Five things we learned: Takeaways from yesterday’s disheartening performance.