AFC West Power Rankings – Week 2
By Mike Murray
What a wacky second week to the NFL season. Many teams that took a step forward in week one (Titans, Niners, Rams, Fins) took a step back in week two. Three teams that struggled in week one responded with impressive victories (Skins, Browns, Vikings). And two Superbowl favorites, the Hawks and Colts, find themselves at 0-2.
The end of the second week finds two AFC West teams near the top of the league in offense and defense, but two AFC teams also have the dubious honor of holding the bottom spots on offense and defense. Here is where the AFC west teams sit at the end of week two.
OffenseChargers – 418 yards, league rank #3Raiders – 347 yards, league rank #13Chiefs – 322 yards, league rank #23Broncos – 259 yards, league rank #32
DefenseBroncos – 243 yards, league rank #2Chargers – 345 yards, league rank #14Chiefs – 347 yards, league rank #15Raiders – 444 yards, league rank #32
Game Reviews
BroncosThe Broncos defense forced the Chiefs into two fumbles and two interceptions returning both an INT and a fumble for a touchdown. The fumble being returned in the final seconds of the game to cap off a comeback by the Broncos where they scored 14 points in the last minute of the game. Demaryius Thomas was huge for the Broncos in their final drive making several catches that helped Denver tie up the game in the final minute.
ChargersThe Chargers made mistakes early fumbling a punt return to set up an easy score for Cincinnati. They fought hard all day long to keep the game close but were unable to overcome their mistakes to win on the road. Cincinnati punished the Charger’s run defense racking up 175 yards on the ground. Melvin Gordon had his best game as a pro running for 88 yards on 16 carries.
ChiefsThe Chiefs appeared to be the better team for most of the Thursday night game against the Broncos. Unfortunately they could not get out of their own way. Jamal Charles fumbled early on a 3rd down in the redzone costing the Chiefs an easy 3 points. He later fumbled away the game giving up a ball that was returned for a touchdown in the final seconds. Alex Smith also threw 2 interceptions, one which was returned for a touchdown.
RaidersThe Raiders won a shootout with the Ravens. A game that featured 941 yards of offense and 70 points. Derek Carr threw a TD pass to Seth Roberts with 26 seconds left to seal the victory.
Power Rankings
#1 Denver Its hard to argue with putting Denver in the top spot as they are 2-0 and knocked off a division rival on the road. The question I have is can the defense continue to win games for them? They have a +5 turnover margin after two weeks and the defense has scored 3 TDs. If they keep that up perhaps they can continue to win with the worst offense in the league.
#2 San DiegoOn paper the Chargers are the most balanced team in the AFC West. They lost a tough game on Sunday to a good team in Cincinnati. Unfortunately for the Chargers it seemed to be the same old story – letting a game that was in your grasp slip away with costly mistakes.
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#3 Kansas CityThe Chiefs fumbled away the opportunity to be on the top of the rankings this week. It was hard to watch their 4th quarter meltdown in Arrowhead stadium. The Chiefs look like a good team but don’t have much to put on their resume so far.
#4 OaklandOn Sunday the Raiders were able to do something against the Ravens that the Broncos could not do – score touchdowns. Oakland came back to win against the Ravens even though they surrendered 493 yards to them. I don’t see the Raiders winning many games if they are planning on trying to outscore the other team.