AFC West Roundup: Week 4 recap for each team

With Week 4 now in the books, here is a recap on how Sunday’s outcomes impacted the Oakland Raiders and the rest of the teams within the AFC West division.

As the NFL’s Week 4 came and went, we’ve now officially passed the quarter mark for the regular season. Despite the NFL season being a marathon as opposed to a sprint, a team’s standing through four regular-season games can foreshadow what’s to lie ahead for the remainder of the year. That’s true for the Oakland Raiders and the three other teams that make up the AFC West.

On Sunday, three of the four AFC West teams picked up a win, helping keep pace in the overall AFC that lacks a large number of dominant teams. Here’s how Week 4 played out for the Oakland Raiders, Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Chargers, and Denver Broncos.

Oakland Raiders

Coming off two back-to-back lackadaisical losses to the Kansas City Chiefs and Minnesota Vikings, Week 4 against the Indianapolis Colts was in large part a “must-win” for the Oakland Raiders. The Colts were banged up on both offense and defense, and despite being at home it was set up for the Raiders to leave Indianapolis with their second victory of the season.

Oakland understood this, and they followed through with a convincing win all-around on Sunday. Derek Carr and the offense were sharp on the opening drive, eventually jumping out to a quick 14-0 lead. The defense was the real story, as the unit managed to hold Jacoby Brissett and the Colts to a meager 10 points for the majority of the game.

Erik Harris made the game-sealing interception, returning it for a pick-six and giving the Raiders their second win of the year, with the final score reading 31-24.