AFC West Roundup: Week 7
The Broncos and Raiders continued to be tangled atop the AFC West standings, with the Chiefs and Chargers in close pursuit. (AP Images)
After a couple early offensive hiccups, the Broncos found their running game in a dominant 27-9 victory of the Houston Texans. The defense forced two turnovers, C.J. Anderson and Devontae Booker combined for 190 yards and Brock Osweiler was held to a QBR of 36. In all, the Broncos' performance put them back in the win column and moved them to 5-2 on the year.Up next: vs. Chargers
It was over when: Houston QB Brock Osweiler lost control of the football without being touched and the Broncos recovered in Texans territory. The Broncos would tack on a field goal to push the lead to 15, and the Texans' hopes for a win were essentially extinguished.
Player of the game: C.J. Anderson, 16 carries, 107 yards, 1 TD, long of 19 yards
Former Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio earned a 33-16 win over his former team on Sunday when the Raiders beat Jacksonville on the road. The Raiders moved to 5-2 behind another steady performance from Derek Carr and three takeaways from the defense.Up next: @ Tampa Bay
It was over when: Raiders WR Michael Crabtree caught a 2-yard touchdown with 11 seconds left in the first half. The late touchdown gave the Raiders a two-score lead and pushed their win probability to 85 percent, according to ESPN.
Player of the game: Latavius Murray, 18 carries, 59 yards, 2 TDs
The Chiefs strung together their second consecutive win in rebounding from their Week 4 drubbing at the hands of the Steelers. Once again, QB Alex Smith led the way with an efficient, mistake-free day and the defense limited a powerful offense below its scoring average. Kansas City went on a 21-0 run in the first half, which forced New Orleans to fight from behind. Two second-half touchdowns got the Saints within a field goal, but in the final minutes, Kansas City added a field goal and, with 28 seconds left, the Saints couldn't drive the length of the field to tie or win the game. Up next: @ Colts
It was over when: time ran out after a 19-yard completion to Michael Thomas to get the Saints to midfield. Without any timeouts, New Orleans' quick-strike offense and its comeback attempt were stopped by the clock.
Top performer: With two touchdowns, no interceptions and 70.1 percent of his passing attempts completed, Alex Smith was almost flawless in efficiently and effectively pushing Kansas City to its early lead.
San Diego flipped their late-game fortunes in Week 7, putting their tough fourth-quarter failures behind them en route to a thrilling comeback victory over the NFC South leaders. A 21-0 Falcons run in the second quarter seemed to spell doom for the Chargers, but a 75-yard drive in three minutes and 30 seconds before halftime stopped the bleeding. Running back Melvin Gordon scored on a late touchdown pass from quarterback Philip Rivers to draw within a field goal, and San Diego got that with 18 seconds remaining to cap a 50-yard drive. In overtime, the Chargers stuffed Falcons running back Devonta Freeman on fourth-and-1 and then drove 19 yards to set up the game-winning field goal from 42 yards out. Up next: @ Broncos
It was over when: Chargers kicker Josh Lambo's kick sailed through the uprights at the Georgia Dome with nine minutes left in the overtime period. As we saw Sunday night, even kicks deemed chip shots are far from guaranteed, much less one from 42 yards out. It was a gutsy call to forego trying to get a closer attempt.
Top performers: the duo of Philip Rivers (27-of-44 passing, 371 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT) and Melvin Gordon (22 carries, 68 yards, 3 total TDs)
