Silver Minings: AFC West Roundup, Chargers finally get a win

Week 3 was brutal for the Las Vegas Raiders as they not only lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers 23-18, but the rest of the AFC West fared pretty well as the Los Angeles Chargers and Kansas City Chiefs walked away with wins. Granted, the Raiders didn’t get embarrassed like the Denver Broncos did, but yesterday also diminished the Silver and Black’s lone victory on the season a bit.

Los Angeles Chargers 28 Minnesota Vikings 24

Key Stats:

• QB Justin Herbert: 40/47, 406 yards, 3 TDs
• WR Keenan Allen: 18 catches, 215 yards, 49 passing yards, 1 passing TD
• WR Mike Williams: 7 catches, 121 yards, 1 TD
• WR Joshua Palmer: 4 catches, 66 yards, 1 TD
• LB Kenneth Murray: 9 total tackles, 1 INT, 1 PD
• CB Asante Samuel Jr.: 6 total tackels, 2 PD

This was a wild game that saw five lead changes and Chargers’ head coach Bradon Staley tried to choke it away with another questionable fourth-down decision late in the game that gave the Vikings a chance to win. However, a Kirk Cousins interception helped the Chargers get into the win column for the first time of the year.

Denver Broncos 20 Miami Dolphins 70

Key Stats:

• QB Russell Wilson: 23/38, 308 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
• RB Javonte Williams: 11 carries, 42 yards
• WR Courtland Sutton: 8 catches, 92 yards, 1 TD
• WR Marvin Mims: 3 catches, 73 yards, 1 return TD
• DT Zach Allen: 7 total tackles, 2 TFL
• EDGE Nik Bonitto: 6 total tackles, 2 TFL, 1 QB hit

This was the ass-kicking of all ass-kickings, almost literally since it happened to the Broncos. The Dolphins set a franchise record and became the first time since the 1970 merger to score 70 points and set an NFL record with 726 total yards! That should count as two losses for Denver.

Kansas City Chiefs 41 Chicago Bears 10

Key Stats:

• QB Patrick Mahomes: 24/33, 272 yards, 3 TDs
• RB Isiah Pacheco: 15 carries, 62 yards, 1 TD
• TE Travis Kelce: 7 catches, 69 yards, 1 TD
• WR Rashee Rice: 5 catches, 59 yards
• LB Drue Tranquill: 8 total tackles, 0.5 sacks
• DT Chris Jones: 1 sack

All you really need to know about this game is it was such a blowout ‘Red Zone’ barely even showed it when there were only three afternoon games, and the Cheifs pulled Mahomes late in the third quarter when they were up 41-0. Oh and Taylor Swift was there if you haven’t seen that 1,000 times already.

AFC West Standings

1. Kansas City 2-1 (Point differential: +38)
2. Los Angels 1-2 (-1)
3. Las Vegas 1-2 (-27)
4. Denver 0-3 (-53)

In other Raiders Links:

• Week 3 recap: Turnovers doom Jimmy Garoppolo as Silver and Black Pride’s Bill Williamson sums up the game and outlines what’s next for the Raiders.
• Jason Horowitz living his dream: “I never actually thought I’d get the job,” the Raiders radio play-by-play announcer admits now via the team’s website. “And then a week later, I got a text message [reading], ‘Hey, you’re our guy.’
• Maxx Crosby weighs in on Chandler Jones: “Chandler’s our brother, we love him,” defensive end Maxx Crosby said per ESPN’s Paul Gutierrez. “For us, we’re focused on winning, focused on the Pittsburgh Steelers. We’re just focused on the day. That’s all we can do.”
• Jimmy Garoppolo evaluated for a concussion: The Athletic’s Tashan Reed tweeted that the quarterback wasn’t talking to the media after the game last night because of the head injury.