The AFC West picture gained a bit of clarity today after the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Arizona Cardinals and the Oakland Raiders lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers. With a 31-13 victory over the Cardinals, the Chiefs moved into sole possession of first place in the AFC West. Quarterback Matt Cassel failed to repeat his performance from last week, 450 yards on 53 pass attempts, but he did throw two touchdown passes to receiver Dwayne Bowe. Bowe accounted for 109 of Cassel's 193 passing yards. Chiefs running backs Jamaal Charles and Thomas Jones ran for 88 yards and 71 yard, respectively. However, Jones scored two rushing touchdowns.
The Oakland Raiders jumped out to an early 3-0 lead, but then became a dud for the rest of the contest. Ben Roethlisberger threw for 3 touchdowns and rushed for one in the 35-3 Steelers victory. The main story emerging from this story stems from Raiders lineman Richard Seymour punching Ben Roethlisberger in the jaw. Seymour will be fined and will likely face a suspension of some sort.
The Denver Broncos have a must-win game against the Chargers now, because a 3-7 record after a loss will make it almost impossible for the Broncos to make a run at the playoffs.
The AFC West standings before tomorrow night's Broncos-Chargers match-up: