Silver Minings: Week 9 AFC West roundup, Chiefs hold off Dolphins in Germany

Raiders don’t gain ground in the division

Nothing will knock the Las Vegas Raiders down from the high of their big Week 9 win, but unfortunately, it didn’t impact the AFC West standings much. The Kansas City Chiefs began Sunday’s action with a win over the Miami Dolphins in Frankfurt, Germany, while the Los Angeles Chargers play tonight and the Denver Broncos were on a bye.

Kansas City Chiefs 21 Miami Dolphins 14

Key Stats:

• QB Patrick Mahomes: 20/30, 185 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INTs, 6 rushes, 24 rushing yards, 1 lost fumble
• RB Isiah Pacheco: 16 carries 66 yards
• TE Travis Kelce: 3 catches, 14 yards
• WR Rasee Rice: 2 catches, 17 yards, 2 TDs
• LB Leo Chenal: 7 total tackles, 1 sack
• CB Jaylen Watson: Jaylen Watson: 5 total tackles, 1 sack, 1 TFL

Another game where the Chiefs were carried by their defense and the offense struggled. Kansas City was able to jump out to a 21-0 halftime lead, but they were blanked in the second half and Miami actually had more total yards. Patrick Mahomes hasn’t been quite the same and the Chiefs don’t look like the clear favorites in the AFC despite holding the top seed heading into the second half of the season.

Los Angeles Chargers

The Chargers play the New York Jets on Monday Night Football tonight.

Denver Broncos

Bye

AFC West Standings

1. Kansas City 7-2
2. Las Vegas 4-5 (3 GB)
3. Los Angeles Chargers 3-4 (3 GB)
4. Denver 3-5 (3.5 GB)

In other Raiders’ links:

• What they’re saying: Victory speeches and post-game cigars help cap off Antonio Pierce’s first win in his first game as an NFL head coach.
• Raiders open as underdogs: DraftKings Sportsbook has the early line set at +2.5 for Las Vegas against the Jets next Sunday.
• Josh McDaniels’ firing timeline: NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport breaks down the timeline leading to the Las Vegas Raiders firing head coach Josh McDaniels.
• Pierce talks winning debut: “You don’t take that for granted,” Pierce said, via ESPN’s Paul Gutierrez. “Humbled by the opportunity.”