The AFC West is still up for grabs, and while the Kansas City Chiefs retain sole possession of the top spot in the division, the Oakland Raiders now aren't far behind. Both the Chiefs and the Silver and Black will enjoy their respective byes this week, while the Denver Broncos go up against the New England Patriots in a primetime showdown. The Los Angeles Chargers will face a tough task in the Sunshine State, and will try to inch their way back to .500.
Before this week's slate of games gets underway, let's take a look at this week's edition of the AFC West Update.
Kansas City Chiefs
It's been a rough month for the Chiefs, as they've dropped three of their last four games, after starting the season 5-0. In Week 9 the team traveled to "Jerry World" to faceoff against the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium, and were unable to pull off the win. In a wild turn of events though, the Chiefs executed a play to end the first half that easily was the top NFL play of the week. Everyone knows wide receiver Tyreek Hill has wheels – the man's Twitter handle isn't "@Cheetah" for no reason – but in the waning moments of the second quarter, quarterback Alex Smith found Hill wide open in the middle of the field, who then proceeded to make a spectacular highlight. With three blockers in front of him, the Chiefs speedster weaved his way through the Cowboys defense for a touchdown. Even though the team eventually fell 28-17 to Dallas, they'll enter their bye week and prepare get some rest prior to Week 11.
Denver Broncos
Well, for what's supposed to be one of the defenses in football, they sure didn't look like it last week. When the Broncos touched down in Philadelphia for their road bout with the Eagles – currently the best team in football with a record of 8-1 – the offense desperately needed to get going, and was looking for a spark from quarterback Brock Osweiler. In the end, neither the offense nor defense gave their best effort, as the Broncos fell 51-23 to Carson Wentz and Co.
Currently at the bottom of the AFC West, Denver faces an uphill battle this weekend against the reigning Super Bowl champs. Head Coach Vance Joseph will have to get his unit in order prior to this Sunday's primetime bout with Tom Brady and Bill Belichick on Sunday Night Football.
Los Angeles Chargers
Coming off their bye week, the Bolts will travel to Jacksonville, Fla., for an AFC battle against the Jaguars who are one of the notable teams in the conference this season. Former New York Giants Head Coach, and current Vice President of Football Operations for the Jags, Tom Coughlin has developed a strong defensive unit, which compliments running back Leonard Fournette's physical running style. At the moment, Jacksonville is defensively the best team against the pass, only allowing 156.4 yards per game. For veteran quarterback Philip Rivers, who's known for heaving up some 50-50 balls, turnovers could play a vital role in this matchup.
Although, it should be fun to watch Fournette and Chargers running back Melvin Gordon try to out-do one another.
