Oakland Raiders: AFC West Power Rankings after Week 2
By Nick Ellis
Heading into the 2019 NFL season, the AFC West was considered one of the best in the NFL. After two weeks of football, is that still true?
The standings after Week 2 look as such:
- Kansas City Chiefs (2-0)
- Oakland Raiders (1-1)
- Los Angeles Chargers (1-1)
- Denver Broncos (0-2)
As far as divisional match ups go, the Raiders defeated the Broncos 26-14, and then fell to the Chiefs in Week 2 28-10. The Chargers have yet to play a division game.
AFC West Power Rankings
1. Kansas City Chiefs
The Chiefs are the clear favorite to win this division right now, as their offense looks as strong as ever. Patrick Mahomes has thrown seven touchdowns in two games, and their defense held the Raiders to just ten points.
The Chiefs have outscored their opponents 68-36 in their first two games, and that is without their best weapon in Tyreek Hill. The Chiefs have an unlimited amount of incredible skill players, and Mahomes can find them deep whenever he wants.
The Chiefs are the clear favorite to play the Patriots in the AFC Championship again this year, as no other team in the AFC looks like they can compete with this offense.
Next Game- Baltimore Ravens
2. Los Angeles Chargers
The Chargers were considered to be a Super Bowl contender this season, but after two weeks, they are not living up to their expectations. Although the Chargers defeated a returning playoff team in the Colts, the team did not look great in the second half, and they were playing a team that is still adjusting.
The Chargers offense could not get anything going against Detroit, as Philip Rivers failed to throw a touchdown in the game. A fumble on the goal line by Austin Ekeler killed any momentum that the team had, and the Chargers fell to the Lions 13-10.
The Chargers are plagued by injuries right now, but when are they not? At this point, it’s hard to expect the Chargers to ever play with the start studded lineup that they have on their preseason depth chart. The Chargers will more than likely bounce back and be a playoff team, but they did not look like it in Week 2.
Next Game- Houston Texans
3. Oakland Raiders
The Raiders could be one of the best teams in the league if they could play four quarters of football, but unfortunately that is not the case. After a strong debut against the Broncos, the Raiders dropped the ball against the Chiefs.
After outscoring the Chiefs 10-0 in the first quarter, the Raiders were outscored 28-0 in the second as a result of penalties and blown coverage. The Raiders failed to know their assignments on multiple long plays from the Chiefs in the second quarter, and that was the story of the game.
If the Raiders want to reach their potential this season, they will need to communicate on defense, score touchdowns when in the red zone, and feed Josh Jacobs the ball. If they could have done those three things, they could have defeated Kansas City. Unfortunately, the Raiders have those issues every year, so who knows if it will get fixed.
Next Game- Minnesota Vikings
4. Denver Broncos
After a poor showing in Week 1, the Broncos lost a heart breaker against the Bears in Week 2. The Broncos would lose on a last second field goal to fall to Chicago 16-14.
The Broncos issue is that they cannot score points until the fourth quarter. The Broncos brought in Joe Flacco to work with a solid group of receivers, but to no surprise, he has struggled to do that. Flacco threw the ball 50 times Sunday, only finding the end zone one time.
The Broncos defense looked better against a weak Bears offense, only allowing one touchdown, and holding the Bears to 120 passing yards. The Broncos need to get to the quarterback like they usually do if they want to compete this year, but so far they have struggled to do so.