AFC West Roundup: Week 8
A look at all the action around the AFC West during Week 8. (Photos by AP)
Two weeks after faltering in San Diego without Head Coach Gary Kubiak, who was recovering from complex migraine symptoms, the Broncos evened the season series with the Chargers at home. The No Fly Zone wrangled three interceptions off of Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers, including one pick-six from cornerback Bradley Roby. Denver added two touchdowns on the ground from rookie running back Devontae Booker and third-year back Juwan Thompson, and San Diego could not overcome an eight-point deficit in the waning minutes. Next up for Denver: at OaklandNext up for San Diego: vs. Tennessee
It was over when: second-year cornerback Lorenzo Doss deflected a pass at the goal line on fourth down with 2:38 left in the game. The Chargers would get another possession before the end of the game, but they never got closer to the end zone than that.
Top performer: Bradley Roby stepped up in the absence of an injured Aqib Talib with the aforementioned pick-six, two passes defensed and seven total tackles. T.J. Ward also had a stellar game with one interception, one sack and 10 total tackles.
San Diego's top performer: Running back Melvin Gordon totaled 111 rushing yards and 44 receiving yards, averaging nearly 6 yards per touch.
The Raiders overcame both a 10-point deficit and the most penalties in NFL history to snag a 30-24 overtime win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. After falling behind early, Derek Carr and the Raiders got to work. Despite two missed field goals by Sebastian Janikowski in the late going of Sunday's game, Oakland found just enough to get the job done and improve to 5-0 on the road. Up next: vs. Denver
Top performer: Derek Carr broke a 52-year-old franchise record for passing yards in a game as he threw for 513 yards in the contest. He completed 40 of 59 passes for four touchdowns and no interceptions.
It was over when: Derek Carr hit Seth Roberts on fourth-and-4 with less than two minutes to go in overtime. Roberts broke a pair of tackles and sprinted all the way to the end zone.
The Chiefs blew out the Colts 30-14 in a road game that was only briefly in doubt. The bigger issue, though, was the status of quarterback Alex Smith after he left the game on two separate occasions after hitting his head on the Lucas Oil Stadium turf. Nick Foles threw two touchdowns in Smith's stead, but the starter's health will be a question mark heading into the Chiefs' game against Jacksonville. Up next: vs. Jacksonville
Top performer: Backup quarterback Nick Foles went 16-for-22 for 223 yards and two touchdowns in replacement duty for Alex Smith.
It was over when: the Chiefs scored on a 34-yard touchdown pass from Foles to Tyreek Hill with 7:34 to go in the third quarter. The score put the Chiefs up by 17, and there would be no 28-point comeback for the Colts this time around against Kansas City.
