NFL Week 3 takeaways: Jimmy Garoppolo is bad, Jaguars are legit

NFL Week 3 takeaway no. 1: The AFC West is Overrated

The AFC west went 1-3 this past week, and the only winning team from the division was the hard-to-watch Broncos. Outside of Kansas City, this division has been overhyped. The Chiefs were surprisingly a bit underrated heading into the season after the departure of Tyreek Hill.

The Chargers were a popular pick to win this division, the Broncos were expected to take a step forward after the acquisition of Russell Wilson, and the Raiders were supposed to be unstoppable, especially in the red zone after adding Davante Adams to a receiving room with Darren Waller and Hunter Renfrow. However, the Raiders are 0-3 with Adams seeing little production over the last two weeks, the Chargers are 1-2 and the injuries seem to have already devoured this team’s chances of winning this division, the Chiefs choked against the Colts in a frustrating loss, and the Broncos’ offense is averaging a measly 14 points per game after three weeks.

I am not worried about the Chiefs for the most part, as the defense has been very solid, and the offense will bounce back with Patrick Mahomes at the helm. Week three was a major trap game for the Chiefs against the Colts. I still expected Kansas City to win pretty convincingly, which the Chiefs should have, but special teams’ mistakes and missed opportunities left the door open for Indianapolis. Watching that game, you felt that the Chiefs should have by 10-12 points. Nonetheless, the Chiefs sit 2-1 and are somehow tied with the Broncos for the division lead.

Denver’s offense looks like they are never on the same page, and everything is a struggle – from play calling to executing the play on the field. Wilson is missing throws that we expect him to make, and he does not look to run as often, but he did scramble around on the game-winning drive on Sunday night.

The Chargers have lost Rashawn Slater for the season, Joey Bosa got hurt on Sunday, J.C. Jackson has seen little action on the field after an offseason ankle injury, Keenan Allen is dealing with a hamstring injury, Austin Ekeler looks like a shell of himself, and Herbert has broken rib cartilage while dealing with an offensive line that is riddled with injuries. In short, Los Angeles is in serious trouble, but not as dire as the last-place team in this division.

I had my doubts about Josh McDaniels, but I did not think this team would start 0-3 and seem to ignore the fact that they have Adams as their top receiver. After seeing 10 catches for 141 yards and a touchdown in week one, the 30-year-old wideout has caught seven passes for 48 yards and two touchdowns through the last two weeks.

Things do not get better for the Raiders, as their next two games are divisional contests against the Broncos and Chiefs. The Raiders should have a legit chance of beating Denver in week four, but traveling to Arrowhead to take on the Chiefs on Monday night in week five could be a disaster for the Raiders. It is not out of the realm of possibilities that the Raiders are 0-5 going into their bye week.

This division has the highest ceiling in the NFL but has not lived up to the preseason hype.