AFC West Week 4 Preview & Picks

NFL AFC West Week 4 Preview

There are just three games on the AFC West Week 4 card this week. Kansas City will get its bye week, and continues to lead the division after nearly a month of football with a perfect 3-0 record, as the rest of the field trail at 1-2. This will be a good week for some of the teams to gain some ground on the Chiefs, and for someone to claim possession of second place at the division starts to take shape. Here I look at all of the week’s 2010 AFC West matchups.

SUN, OCT 3 TIME (ET)

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Denver at Tennessee 1:00 PM CBS – Tennessee (2-1) cruised to a 29-10 victory over the Giants in Week 3 despite surrendering 471 yards by a defense that was rated in the top 10 after holding the Steelers to 127, in a 19-10 loss at Heinz Field.

But don’t blame the defense, as the Titans committed seven turnovers including four fumbles in that loss, helping the Steelers hold the ball for more than 33 minutes wearing out the Tennessee defenders.

The Tennessee defense has allowed just two offensive touchdowns in three games, but who can blame them for being tired?

QB Vince Young has been the focus of a lot of attention over the past few weeks, mainly stemming from his being pulled in Week 2 after tossing two of the Titans three interceptions and losing a fumble against the Steelers.

Makes you wonder how he’ll stack up against the NFL’s top-ranked pass offense when the Broncos (1-2) come to Music City on Sunday.

Unlike Tennessee, Kyle Orton as secured his job under center by leading the NFL’s most prolific passing attack, which is averaging 350.0 yards per game. However, Orton’s career-high 476 passing yards, though, weren’t enough to help Denver avoid a 27-13 home loss to Indianapolis last Sunday.

He is likely to have a big day against a depleted Titans secondary.
Another early season asset for the Broncos is its run defense, as they held the Colts to 40 yards on 22 carries. It will come in handy if they hope to slow down Titan’s RB Chris Johnson.

The 2009 NFL rushing leader reached triple-digit yards again after his streak of 12 consecutive 100-yard games was snapped against the Steelers.

Tennessee’s run game will give them the edge in this one.

PREDICTION: Tennessee

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Houston at Oakland 4:05 PM CBS – The Raiders fell to 1-2 with a disappointing 24-23 loss to the Cardinals in Week 3.

QB Bruce Gradkowski was 17 of 34 for 255 yards, and a touchdown with a single interception against the Cardinals. He would lead a late Raiders’ drive deep into Arizona territory, but Sebastian Janikowski would miss an easy 32-yard field goal attempt, his third miss of the game, killing Oakland’s hope of taking over sole possession of second place in the AFC West.

Now they will face their toughest opponent by far this season and will need to be more opportunistic if they want to come out ahead at the final whistle.

The Raiders are tied for the most trips inside the opponent’s 20-yard line with 13, but have come away with only three touchdowns for the third worst percentage in the NFL. They are also once again plagued with penalties, 33 through three games.

It’s those things that will hurt them against the Texans (2-1) who will bring its high-octane offense led by its passing game, under the direction of QB Matt Schaub and star WR Andre Johnson.

However, the team showed its ugly side in a 27-13 loss at home to Dallas after entering Week 3 with league highs of 64 points and 881 yards of total offense.

Schaub was held to just a single TD and 247 yards with a pair of INTs, while Dallas QB Tony Romo shredded a porous Texans’ secondary that gave up more than 400 yards passing in each of the first two games.

Gradkowski will try to take advantage of Houston’s league-worst pass defense, while Schaub will have to contend with cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha, who has fared well in his last three games against Johnson, helping limit the Pro Bowler to a total of five catches for 94 yards and no touchdowns.

With that being said, you can look for Schaub to hand the ball off to NFL leading rusher Arian Foster, who gained 106 yards against the Cowboys to increase his total to 406. The Raiders rank only 24th against the rush, compared to second against the pass.

Meanwhile, the Raiders will counter with a decent rushing attack of its own led by running back Darren McFadden has been solid, gaining 345 rushing yards in three games.

The Houston aerial assault will get it done.

PREDICTION: Texans

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Arizona at San Diego 4:15 PM FOX – All I keep hearing is how the Chargers (1-2) are off to another slow start under coach Norv Turner, and how San Diego has gone 6-8 in September in its four seasons under Turner, but how the they responded with winning streaks that gave them the AFC West title in the first three.

Well, I don’t buy it, and the team’s optimism is nothing more than a cover up for playing some really awful football.

With one of the NFC West’s best QBs in Phillip Rivers, who by the way threw a franchise-record 455 yards and two touchdowns in last week’s 27-20 loss to Seattle, the Chargers should be commanding wins at will. Instead, they are giving wins away, committing five turnovers, the last coming when Rivers was picked off—for the second time — at the Seahawks’ 5-yard line in the final seconds.

I’ve seen better play from the local Pop Warner team. San Diego lost three fumbles, committed 11 penalties for 83 yards, and allowed two kickoff returns for scores, including a 99-yarder in the fourth quarter that sealed their doom.

A typical slow start or just plain sloppy play?

Meanwhile, the Cardinals (2-1) bounced back from a 41-7 blowout at Atlanta in the previous week by hanging on to beat Oakland 24-23 on Sunday.

Although I am not overly impressed with the Cardinals, their ground game appears to be getting better, as Beanie Wells returned to rush for 75 yards on 14 carries.

The real problem remains at QB, and Arizona still needs more out of Derek Anderson, who went just 12 of 26 for 122 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.

The Cardinals rank 25th in offense and are allowing 231.3 passing yards per game, and that number could go up after they face Rivers, who has thrown for an NFL-high 1,087 yards.

San Diego has won eight of 11 all-time meetings with Arizona and five of six at home, but their poor start has killed the buzz. If the Chargers can’t turn things around this weekend, the Cardinals could embarrass them in front of their hometown fans.

PREDICTION: Arizona