Week 15: AFC West Notes
By Andrew Dill
Dec 12, 2013; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Broncos head coach John Fox (left) and San Diego Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers (17) greet each other after the game at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. The Chargers won 27-20. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports
Two AFC West teams have already played this week. The Denver Broncos already played their week 15 game against AFC West rival San Diego and lost at home snapping their 10-game conference win steak. The Chargers would dominate the time of possession as they controlled the ball for 38:49 minutes while Denver only had it for 21:11. Denver didn’t have an answer as they were without four defensive starters in Rahim Moore, Kevin Vickerson, Derek Wolfe, and Champ Bailey. The Chargers would gash Denver for 177 yards on the ground on 44 attempts. San Diego’s win over Denver also keeps their playoff hopes alive for a wild-card spot.
The two other AFC West teams will face off as the Kansas City Chiefs look to tie up the Denver Broncos in the standings with a win over the Oakland Raiders. The Chiefs can also secure a postseason birth with a win. The Broncos do however own the tie-breaker over Kansas City defeating them in both of their regular season meetings. Kansas City looks to feed off of their 45-10 win at Washington last Sunday snapping their three-game skid. They would put up the most points they have all season.
They will be going up against an Oakland Raiders team that loves to run the football; ranked 4th in the National Football League in rushing yards per game. The Raiders are led by halfbacks Rashad Jennings and Darren McFadden. Jennings has rushed for 588 yards accounting for four touchdowns, while McFadden has rushed for 365 yards with four touchdowns as well.
Jennings and McFadden missed last weeks game and its uncertain if they will play today. Dexter McCluster will be out for the Chiefs as he is nursing a cut on his ankle that has turned into an infection; he is being treated with antibiotics.
Here are the current AFC West Standings heading into Sunday:
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Also, the New England Patriots with a win over the Miami Dolphins, will take sole possession over the one seed in the AFC. New England owns the tie-breaker over Denver after beating them 34-31 in overtime week 12.