AFC West Week 8 preview

With Las Vegas having a week off, consider this your viewing guide for the weekend

The Las Vegas Raiders are on a bye for Week 8 but the rest of the AFC West is in action. While the Raiders currently hold the division lead, they could use some assistance to stay there after the weekend.

With the help of our friends over at DraftKings Sportsbook, I put together a little viewers’ guide for Raider Nation that includes gambling lines, stats, key matchups and a short preview of what’s at stake for each game.

New England Patriots (3-4) @ Los Angeles Chargers (4-2)

Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images

Spread: LAC -5.5 Total: 49 NE Moneyline: +185 LAC Moneyline: -225

LAC Offense: 377.5 yards per game (ranks 12th), 282.8 passing ypg (ranks 7th), 94.7 rushing ypg (ranks 25th), 24.7 points per game (ranks 13th)

NE Defense: 350.6 yards per game (ranks 12th), 245.0 passing ypg (ranks 16th), 105.6 rushing ypg (ranks 11th), 18.3 points per game (ranks 6th)

LAC Defense: 364.3 yards per game (ranks 19th), 201.8 passing ypg (ranks 4th), 162.5 rushing ypg (ranks 32nd), 20.5 points per game (ranks 22nd)

NE Offense: 355.0 yards per game (ranks 16th), 259.6 passing ypg (ranks 14th), 95.4 rushing ypg (ranks 24th), 25.6 points per game (ranks 11th)

This line was a little steeper than I thought it would be because I think the Patriots have a chance at pulling off the upset. They’re coming off two of their best performances of the season after going toe-to-toe with the Cowboys and demolishing the Jets, and Mac Jones has been dealing lately.

On the other side of things, Justin Herbert and the Chargers are coming off their worst outing of the year, a 34-6 beatdown in Baltimore. However, Los Angeles has two weeks to prepare and New England’s secondary isn’t what it used to be, so Keenan Allen and Mike Williams could run wild on Sunday.

Key Matchups

CB J.C. Jackson vs. WR Keenan Allen

TE Hunter Henry vs. DB Derwin James

RB Damien Harris vs. LB Drue Tranquill

Washington Football Team (2-5) @ Denver Broncos (3-4)

Scott Galvin-USA TODAY Sports

Spread: DEN -3 Total: 43.5 WSH Moneyline: +140 DEN Moneyline: -160

DEN Offense: 347.6 yards per game (ranks 22nd), 241.0 passing ypg (ranks 16th), 106.6 rushing ypg (ranks 18th), 20.0 points per game (ranks 24th)

WSH Defense: 406 yards per game (ranks 29th), 300.6 passing ypg (ranks 32nd), 105.4 rushing ypg (ranks 10th), 30.0 points per game (ranks 32nd)

DEN Defense: 323.4 yards per game (ranks 5th), 224.1 passing ypg (ranks 10th), 99.3 rushing ypg (ranks 8th), 18.1 points per game (ranks 4th)

This game might be one where you just check the boxscore before Sunday Night Football because it could be very painful to watch.

The Football Team got a lot of hype in the offseason, but I’ll stand on my soapbox now and say that I always thought they were overrated … I know, very brave of me. While yes, Ryan Fitzpatrick going down in Week 1 has played a factor in their lack of success, but Washington’s defense was supposed to be the team’s calling card but they rank dead last in points allowed per game.

Jerry Jeudy returns this week which should help Denver’s offense get going, but unless Teddy Bridgewater can start playing like he was at the beginning of the season, Jeudy’s return will be futile. This game is also extremely important for Bronco’s head coach Vic Fangio, who might have the hottest seat in the NFL right now.

Key Matchups

WR Terry McLaurin vs. CB Patrick Surtain II

DT Jonathan Allen vs. OG Dalton Risner

CB Kendall Fuller vs. WR Jerry Jeudy

New York Giants (2-5) @ Kansas City Chiefs (3-4)

Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Spread: KC -9.5 Total: 51.5 NYG Moneyline: +320 KC Moneyline: -425

KC Offense: 419.3 yards per game (ranks 3rd), 301.1 passing ypg (ranks 4th), 118.1 rushing ypg (ranks 14th), 26.9 points per game (ranks 8th)

NYG Defense: 368.7 yards per game (ranks 20th), 243.1 passing ypg (ranks 14th), 125.6 rushing ypg (ranks 24th), 25.7 points per game (ranks 23rd)

KC Defense: 404.6 yards per game (ranks 28th), 275.7 passing ypg (ranks 26th), 128.9 rushing ypg (ranks 27th), 29.0 points per game (ranks 27th)

NYG Offense: 352.3 yards per game (ranks 19th), 260.6 passing ypg (ranks 13th), 91.7 rushing ypg (ranks 26th), 19.9 points per game (ranks 25th)

Every year we get at least a few primetime matchups that looked good in the preseason but ended up being terrible because of injuries or one team failing to live up to expectations. However, this Monday Night Football matchup is the exact opposite, as it looked terrible a couple of months ago but could actually end up as a good game.

The Chiefs have struggled to start the season and after getting demolished 24-3 by the Titans last week, Kansas City has firmly pushed the panic button. As for the Giants, well, they’re about as bad as everyone thought they’d be, and it’s looking like New York might be joining Las Vegas in the head coach search this offseason.

Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs should be able to get back on track this week, but we’ve been saying that for a few weeks now and here we are.

Key Matchups

CB James Bradberry vs. WR Tyreek Hill

DB Jabril Peppers vs. TE Travis Kelce

DL Leonard Williams vs. OG Joe Thuney