AFC West Recap - Week 8
This was a game of two halves, with (3-5) Denver keeping it close in the first and losing control en-route to losing 30-23 to the (7-1) Chiefs.
Denver’s offense took advantage of a weak Chiefs defense early, opening scoring on the day with a 1-yard TD run by Phillip Lindsay. Him and Devontae Booker both had great games, rushing a combined 27 times for 173 yards and a touchdown. Case Keenum had his worst game of the year, including a backbreaking fumble and pick in the fourth quarter. He finished with 261 yards and 2 Touchdowns, including 2 big play shots to Emmanuel Sanders and Courtland Sutton. His biggest problem is that all of his turnovers come either in a huge moment, or the redzone.
Denver’s defense understandably struggled vs the best offense in football in the hardest stadium to visit in the league. They couldn’t generate enough pressure on Mahomes to force him out of his comfort zone while also containing the run. As a unit, they only managed 6 QB hits and 2 sacks (including a combo sack by Von Miller and Bradley Chubb). Justin Simmons did add a nice pick and almost secured a second.
For the Chiefs, that was Pat Mahomes lone mistake of the night. He finished with 303 yards and 4 touchdowns. It was Sammy Watkins big day, as he brought in 8 passes for 107 yards and 2 touchdowns. Travis Kelce added 6 receptions for 79 yards and a touchdown, and Tyreek Hill had 3 for 70 yards. You know who else had a huge day? A little someone named Kareem Hunt. He only had 40 yards rushing, but added a 23-yard receiving touchdown where he hurdled one defender and dragged another 10 yards into the endzone.
The defense struggled mightily vs the run. As mentioned before, they let Lindsay and Booker average 5.3 and 8.7 yards-per-carry respectively on them. They managed some great pressure vs. a reeling Case Keenum, sacking him 5 times on the night. Dee Ford took him down 3 times by himself, forcing a fumble off him once. Kendall Fuller had a super athletic pick as well.
Takeaways for Denver: Keenum would be more than serviceable if he could manage the game well, but it’s becoming increasingly obvious that he can’t do that. The red zone and late game turnovers are too consistent and too costly to the teams record. What really sucks is that if any game was going to be the opportunity to Swag Kelly to take the reigns, this was it. At this point in the season, I don’t think there is a reason for them to go out and get someone else to start, and Kevin Hogan won’t be any better either. A random bright spot from this game was Devontae Booker, who shined with Freeman out. They need Miller and Chubb to generate more pressure, especially vs a line that was relatively makeshift as KC’s was today.
Takeaways for Kansas City: This was way closer than it should have been considering how anemic Denver’s pass-attack was. Dorian O’Daniel and Breeland both had some really bright spots during the game, but also were pure shit vs the run. Particularly anything up the middle. Ron Parker and Kendall Fuller had a brutal miscommunication leading to a giant gain by Sanders early on, and it’s moments like that which remind you that this defense is not ready for the playoffs.
Notes for Denver: Daesean Hamilton, Darian Stewart, Royce Freeman, Alexander Freeman, Shane Ray, Jared Veldheer and Nico Falah were all inactive. Sanders took a harsh hit and sat out, but later returned. They go home to play Houston next Sunday.
Notes for Kansas City: Eric Berry, Justin Houston, Mitch Morse, Darrel Williams, Nate Orchard, Kahlil McKenzie and Justin Hamilton were all inactive. Tyreek left the game in the fourth with a hamstring tweak. They go to Cleveland next sunday.
Yet another strong start and weak finish for (1-6) Oakland in their 42-28 loss to Indianapolis.
On offense, they had some highlight worthy plays in the second and third quarters, but not much in the rest of the game. You can’t fault Derek Carr, who went 21/28 for 244 yards and threw 3 touchdowns to Jared Cook, Seth Roberts, and Brandon LaFell. Yes, Brandon LaFell is still in the league. Carr also rushed one in to compliment Doug Martin‘s decent night (13 attempts for 72 yards, 1 fumble). This was by far the offensive lines best night, not allowing any sacks and only a single QB hit.
On defense, it was a very different story. They were gashed through the air by Luck and on the ground by Mack. They only hit Luck once, and were mossed by a bunch of randos all game.
Yuck. As a general rule of thumb, you don’t want to let up catches like that OR give up 222 yards on the ground.
Takeaways: The team is in tank mode now, so there isn’t a lot to look forward too outside of the development of young guys. With Cooper gone, you almost have to wish they were developing younger guys like Keon Hatcher, who had 3 TDs in week 4 of the preseason before dropping him, instead of a 31 year old like Brandon LaFell and Seth Roberts who are not part of the long term plan. Some of the younger defensive guys, namely Arden Key, played very well in generating pressure in the pocket to an extent.
Notes: Marcell Ateman, Shilique Calhoun, Emmanuel Lamur, Rashaan Melvin, Justin Murray, Reggie Nelson and Kelechi Osemele were all inactive. T.J. Clemmings left in the second half and did not return. Short week for the team, as they travel to battle across the bay with San Fran on TNF (Yucky).
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