Broncos, Raiders, Chargers. Better than we thought they were?
 

So this past Sunday, the AFC West went 3 out of 3 against the NFC North, a division populated by the Packers (7-2) and the Vikings (6-3), two playoff caliber teams.

Perhaps three, if we include the Lions (3-4-1) who are the outside looking in right now, but have proven statistically and on the field that they are a tough football team trending towards becoming a good one in the near future.

But somehow the Chiefs, Raiders, and Chargers all defeated their respective NFC North opponents over the weekend.

So the question must be asked: are our division rivals actually better than we thought they were? Why or why not?

This is a hypothetical question, btw. A mental exercise. I'm not saying that I believe that the Chargers/Broncos/Raiders are playoff caliber teams. Just thought it might be an interesting debate topic.

Not really. A bad team and two mediocre teams. Unless you are a total dreg POS team(Bengals, Dolphins)you’re going to beat a decent team or two per year.

Also, when did the Browns move to the NFC?

JFC

No.

No. They all suck.

Raiders are underrated. As is Carr.

This, and

This

Good catch. Meant to type Chiefs. Somehow got on the Browns. They were just talking about the Browns on TV; musta crossed me up.

The Raiders Derek Carr just threw for a 71% completion percentage, has 13 TDs against 4 INTs. Josh Jacobs is arguably a top 10 RB, maybe top 5. And they defeated a Lions team that came within a 99-yard fumble return of defeating our Chiefs (maybe, but the Lions were a tough out for the Chiefs).

The Chargers thoroughly dominated a Packers team that the Chiefs couldn't beat, in spite of a solid performance by our defense and a very good performance by Matt Moore.

Our Chiefs defeated the Vikings, led by October's Offensive Player of the Month, a legitimate top 5 offense and top 5 defense. And were considered the hottest team in the league going into Sunday.

Even the Broncos starting a back-up QB and a team with more holes in it than a block of swiss cheese somehow managed to beat the Browns, a team that on paper should've dominated that game.

Was that all just luck?

Cool. Just ****ing with you

Lmao

Fyp

Yes, Carr isn't a bad QB. He's just a less clutch version of Alex Smith. And a huge pussy.

THEY ALL SUCK, DUMBASD!!!!!!

I think some of you might have misunderstood the point of the topic. I'm not saying that I believe that the Chargers/Broncos/Raiders are playoff caliber teams. Just thought it might be an interesting football-related debate topic.

Collectively they’re better than what I thought they were two weeks ago, but not better than I expected coming into the season.

Chargers are underperforming as per usual, Raiders are OK but not good, Broncos suck giant donkey dick and have no hope of being good in the near future.

How could the Chargers be better than we thought when they were projected to be a 10-12 win team? They've already lost more games halfway through the season than they lost all last year.

The answer is **** No. They'll both be sub .500 teams by season's end.

Coming into the season, I would have pegged the Raiders and Broncos at around 6-10 and the Chargers at around 9-7. I think the Raiders are better than I expected, but the others are still in that range.

The Raiders will probably be our biggest threat for the next few years.

And I don’t think that’s a bad thing.

I still expect the Chiefs to go 6-0 in the AFC West. That's my metric. So no, they aren't any better than I thought.

THEY ARE WHO WE THOUGHT THEY WERE

Nope!

But if the Chargers for example, are really as bad as we all thought they were this season (which gives me a warm feeling deep in the cockles), then how on Earth did they so thoroughly dominate the Packers? A team that we all thought were a Super Bowl caliber team just two weeks ago?

I refuse to believe that Philip Rivers is a better QB than Aaron Rodgers.

I doubt that Melvin Gordon is a much better RB than Jones.

I haven't kept up with who's actually playing WR for the Chargers, but could their WR corps really be that much better than the Packers receivers?

At TE I have to believe that the Packers have the edge there with Jimmy Graham. At least as a receiver.

The OL for the Packers kept Rodgers fairly clean until they ran into the Chiefs, while the Chargers OL has been kind of porous.

The Packers came into the contest 7-1, while the Chargers lost three of their last four to the likes of the Steelers, Broncos, and the Titans going into the contest.

So if it's not luck, and I don't believe in luck, what's the answer? Because, to put it in typical CP vernacular, the Packers got their poop pushed in Sunday.

Somewhere in all of this either the Packers are hiding a huge flaw, or the Chargers are a lot better than we've been giving them credit for.

Because in the NFL shit changes week to week, and shit happens. People are putting way too much stock in a single win. One in which the Packers looked absolutely flat and off.

The Chargers are one week removed from meltdown code-red, now we're wondering if they're GOOD?

pssssshhh ****a pls.

The Raiders are better than most people thought. Grudens better than most give him credit for. The roster itself is very meh.
The Chargers are worse than everyone thought. Some idiots picked them to win the west, but the talent is there to be above .500
The Donks at 3-6 are about where most people had them

No, we're not wondering if they're good. You missed the point of the exercise. We're wondering, if they're really as bad as we thought, how did they beat the Packers. "Shit changes" while accurate in a broad sense, doesn't explain anything.

The point is to try to explain what happened using logic/rational argument(s).

I thought that might be more interesting to talk about than watching a video of some crazy Canadian lady screaming **** a lot after being caught cheating in a parking lot, that's all.

No disrespect to the OP of that video intended.

I thought the Chargers were a winning team until about week 2, then i figured they were a 7 win team. The win vs the Packers doesn't change that.

There's no comparing rosters, or schemes or any of that. To me it's pretty damn simple: The Chargers were desperate and played desperate, the Packers just rolled into town after a big primetime win thinking all they had to do was show up and they looked flat and out of rhythm. It happens.

If that were a best of 7 series, the Packers take it in 5.

Again, the Chargers were 1-week removed from absolute catastrophe. They barely hung on to beat a bad Bears team and the fans i know, to them it felt like a loss. Hell, prior to the trade deadline fans wondered if Rivers would get moved.

The team, fans and organization were in disarray even after the Bears win, because for the most part, even the lowly Bears outplayed them.

They had just gotten curb stomped and humiliated a week prior to the Steelers.

They just fired their freakin' OC mid season.

That team was on the ropes. And i didn't see anything in that Packers game that changed my mind about them.

It's an anomaly until proven otherwise.

Now if you're a Chargers fan, or you don't want to believe me, then here's what you can hang your hat on (If you want to believe the Chargers have pulled it together).

1. New O.C. Possibly better play calling? Meh.

2. Okung is back so they have a LT to protect Rivers' blind side.

3. They got Melvin Ingrahm back for that Packers game.

4. They get Derwin James back soon.

Prior to this Packers game, sorry-ass Melvin Gordon was on the mic talking about "Nobody cares about us anyway" (a reference for their complete lack of fan support).

This team was in the dumps (Have i expressed that enough?) and i just dont think the Packers took them seriously enough.

And Melvin Gordon LMAO LMAO LMAO

I'm not sure there's a bigger idiot in the league right now. He's not a bad guy...but his history in this league tells me he's not very bright.

It took him 3 seasons to learn the playbook. He had one very average season, then he holds out wanting to get paid like a top 2 back (even though he needed at least one more season accrued to become a F/A, so he was ALWAYS going to play) then he comes back and has, so far, had one of his worst seasons as a pro.

He told the Chargers to take their 11-12M Per year and shove it up their ass and now he's likely looking at a 1-yr prove it deal this offseason.

Still kind of smacks a little of 'they got lucky' but at least a logic-based answer (including your part II post). Thanks for playing.:thumb:

Raiders are on the right track and improving. They need another draft and a couple free agent signings to be knocking on the playoff door.

Chargers are worse than last year, but may be trending up with Whisenhunt getting shown the door.

Broncos are also-rans until they improve the depth at every offensive position.

Not lucky, just un-inspired play by the Packers. There were no Rodgers-esque throws into the end zone like there was against us.

I see that game as more of, "What did the Packers do to lose" rather than "What did the Chargers do to win".

So you're saying the Pack had a mental let-down after beating us? That might have a basis in reality. Every team this year has been treating their game against us as if it were their Super Bowl. Maybe the Packers invested so much into defeating the Chiefs that they were a little washed out going into LA.

I originally felt that the answer was probably in the numbers, the stats. But maybe it's really more in the 'invisible' factors.

Does that mean the Ravens are likely to have a similar let-down in their next game?

Negatory batman

Denver is the same old suck fest and will continue several more years...the bottom feeders for sure.

Chargers are 2nd best team in AFCW with the Raiders 3rd.

Chargers have underperformed. Raiders are playing a little better than I thought. Denver is underperforming mightily.

****ing Jets beat the cowboys. Yeah, shit happens.

I don’t really think so, but do feel Oakland is actually making progress in spite of the extremely rocky start

Chargers not so much, they beat the Packers so what... they win a couple games like that every single season, then invariably melt down in spectacular fashion

May they all burn.

In fact the wins might be beneficial after we destroy these fools to keep their draft picks higher.

**** them. Die.

Generally speaking, I agree.

The Raiders are going to be a good team sooner rather than later. I won't be surprised at all if they get to 8-8 this year, which would be a real progression by any standard over last year. Next year I won't be surprised if they get to 10-6. Gruden is shepherding that team in the right direction and they have some good young talent on that team. They just need more depth, another real WR, and some pass rushers. At that point I think what will hold them back is Carr. He either takes the next step or he doesn't He's been in the league long enough that I think he doesn't. But I could be wrong about that.

The Chargers are on the brink of real regression as Rivers' abilities decline. As that happens a lot of good young talent may wither as he drags that out. And they have a lot of talent or they couldn't have beaten the Packers.

The only reason we've lost to anybody is because of that horrific spate of key injuries. At full strength, none of them can touch us. **** 'em.

This !!! And especially the bolded. Had a friend who lives out in SD and he said the Packers were partying like it was 1999 the night before the game FWIW.

Gruden deserves credit. I expected him to implode and the Raiders have improved. Maybe Khalil Mack was bad for team chemistry. Getting rid of Brown seems to help them too.

Chargers looking great right now. Lol.

I heard on NFLXM that "the Chargers are one of those teams nobody wants to play!"

No, they just had a good week.

The Raiders are the best of the group and they're a very middling team. Broncos are terribad and the Chargers kinda suck.

I do not anticipate any divisional losses this year.

Yep. 7 games left and 4 of them on the AFCW looks promising for the Chiefs.

I’m with Nick Wright.... as long as Mahones stays healthy, we are not losing any more games.

Were going to fist **** both of these teams. God I can't wait.

Raiders are much better than I thought.

Fixed it

I said before the season the Faiders could be a .500 team, maybe even 9-7. Looks like they may compete for a Wild Card spot. Chargers are, well, the Chargers.

Faid definitely improved, but neither team even remotely on the level of the Chiefs. KC walks away with the division, even if Pat were to miss the next 2 games and be held out till after the bye.

They're going to be 10-6.

The AFC wildcard spots will be tough IMO.

Bills due to schedule should probably grab one spot and then that leaves one for the second place AFCS team.

I don’t see 9 wins getting it done this year.

Pat would actually have to play though. Lot of people seem to think Mahomes shouldn't play until the playoffs.

Derek would cry if he read this

Because their Suck Pathogen is contagious, I imagine.

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