How the west will be won? Well, even with 15 games left, we know it won’t be by Oakland. Al Davis continues to steer the Raiders into nowhere land. We know at least one person who feels now sympathy for Davis: Mike Shanahan. Bernard Pollard and Chiefs have everyone talking about the knee injury heard ’round the world, and the Chargers got a jolt from Carolina.
Kansas City Chiefs. It’s hard to remember anything from this game other than Kansas City’s Bernard Pollard hit on Patriots quarterback Tom Brady that resulted in Brady being lost for the season with a torn ACL and MCL. That being said, the Chiefs had a great chance to steal this one but just couldn’t get it done. Herm Edwards has to find a way to get Larry Johnson and the running game back to an elite level it was a few years back. But just like Frank Gore can’t rescue the 49ers, Johnson cannot be expected to wear Superman’s cape without any help under center. Brodie Croyle started the game but it was Damon Huard who finished and threw the touchdown pass that got the Chiefs back in it. It appears the game of quarterback musical chairs will stop at Damon Huard in Week 2.
San Diego Chargers. They got pushed around a little bit by Carolina and still they played well enough to win the game. Losing on the final play of regulation has to hurt like hell. Philip Rivers is turning into the quarterback San Diego envisioned he would be when they drafted him and chose to turn the offense over to him and trade then quarterback Drew Brees. He’s become one of the toughest guys on this team and his effort (217 yards, three TDs) should have been good enough to win. Rivers did his job. He gave the Chargers the lead back and a chance to win. The defense lost this one. They gave up almost 400 yards to an offense that didn’t have Steve Smith and were physically worn down by the Carolina offense. Shawn Merriman’s warrior campaign to play in 2008 ended after just one game. Merriman will have his knee fully reconstructed with surgery and he’ll be watching the rest of the year from the sidelines, while Antonio Gates is trying to fight off toe and hip injuries and Tomlinson injured his toe in the loss on Sunday. With Sunday’s loss, San Diego has now dropped four games in a row in September.
Denver Broncos. That was just a pure, good old fashioned ass kicking. They beat down a crummy Oakland Raiders team like an 8th-grader shaking down the 4th graders under the jungle jim at recess looking for extra ice cream money. Jay Cutler shredded the Raiders defense for 300 yards and two scores, picking apart the Oakland secondary without his No. 1 wideout Brandon Marshall. What a coming out party for rookie wideout Eddie Royal. Royal went nose-to-nose with all-pro defensive back DeAngelo Hall and it was as if Royal were Jerry Rice and Hall was high school freshman on the practice squad. Royal hauled in nine receptions for 146 yards and one touchdown. They get Marshall back next week, just in time for a showdown with San Diego. It’s no secret Oakland is just plain horrible, but if Cutler can play the way he did against the Raiders, the Broncos can win this division.
Oakland Raiders. Pathetic. Horrible. Terrible. Putrid. Pick any negative adjective your heart desires to describe the Oakland Raiders effort on Monday night. It’s no wonder why this franchise is the most embarrassing in the NFL. Lance Kiffin probably won’t make it through the year as head coach. The offensive line continues to be bad. The defense was awful. They failed miserably to put grass stains onJay Cutler and when they weren’t missing tackles, they were committing penalties: 10 for 96 yards, highlighted by two stupid personal fouls called on DeAngelo Hall….on the same drive. There’s a reason why they call it the black hole: it’s where football goes to die.
