Tuesday always marks the start of the new week in the NFL. If only that were the case for all of us, right? Nothing good comes on a Monday, anyway.
So as Week 4 begins in the National Football League, it should be no surprise that the Denver Broncos remain atop the AFC West.
Denver has not lost a meaningful football game since December 20, 2015 — that’s right, preseason, you’re not real to me — a 34-27 loss to the Steelers in Pittsburgh.
The Broncos are now one of five teams in the NFL who remain unbeaten, joining the Vikings, Patriots, Ravens and Eagles. I’ve said in the past that it takes four to five weeks to find out who an NFL team really is. Well, here we are, approaching Week 4, and the Broncos offense has just shown what they are capable of.
We shouldn’t get too ahead of ourselves, though. There is still a long ways to go. The 312-yard, four-touchdowns performance from Siemian could be a glimpse into the future or it could turn out to be the exception, not the rule.
Just look at the Green Bay Packers game from last season, where Peyton Manning once again looked like the old Peyton Manning, not an old Peyton Manning. There’s no reason to believe that Siemian can’t repeat that performance, but it’ll be nice to see it again.
Denver will continue to dominate on defense, and if Siemian can pick up the slack on days C.J. Anderson and the running game are struggling, then these weekly AFC West articles will continue to start with “the Broncos remain atop the AFC West.”
San Diego Chargers
Lets start with the Chargers, who share one thing with the Broncos: I could write the same headline about this team three weeks in a row — “The Chargers lose another key player to a season-ending injury.” This time it is Manti T’eo to an Achilles tear. Again, it’s only going to be Week 4, but it already feels like the Chargers are out of the race.
Kansas City Chiefs
The Raiders and Chiefs both picked up their second wins of the year on Sunday to improve to 2-1. The Chiefs blew out the New York Jets with the help of Ryan Fitzpatrick, who threw six interceptions in the game. The Chiefs are expecting to get Jamal Charles back this week when they square off against the Steelers in Pittsburgh. The Steelers are coming off a blowout of their own, but they were on the wrong end. Pittsburgh is also getting Le’Veon Bell back this week, who is coming off a three-game suspension. The Chiefs will improve with Charles in the lineup I’m just not sure this will be the week. The game is in Pittsburgh and the Steelers have some redeeming to do.
Oakland Raiders
As far as the Raiders go, they drew the Tennessee Titans this week and picked up a 17-10 victory. I believe my weekly check-ins on the AFC West will turn into a two team race between the Broncos and Raiders. If you’re a Broncos fan (like a real Broncos fan that remembers what Raider week feels like), with the way the two teams are playing, the next matchup can’t come soon enough.
The Broncos are on track to once again win their division. The season is young but the Broncos are beginning to fire on all cylinders.