This week marks the final week of preseason football with the regular season only days away. It has been a pleasant preseason for some AFC West teams, while others have struggled. With final roster cuts having to be made, Week 4 action will be important for coaching staffs and players on the bubble. Here’s a look at how the AFC West teams matchup this week.
Kansas City Chiefs @ Green Bay Packers, Thursday, 4PM ET
The Chiefs are 1-2 this preseason and have shown some struggles. They lost 30-12 to the Minnesota Vikings last week.
In last week’s matchup, Alex Smith was 14-24 with 124 yards; the starting offense has yet to score a touchdown in 16 possessions this preseason. It may only be preseason, but to see the Chiefs starting offense hasn’t scored a touchdown is a little surprising.
One of the training camp battles for KC has been at the wide receiver position. Last week, Frankie Hammond Jr. got the start in place of Dwayne Bowe and had a few good catches. Hammond has had a nice preseason with the Chiefs.
This week’s game in Green Bay will be a good test for the Chiefs offensive line against the always tough and talented Packers defense. Green Bay is one of the best when it comes to the pass rush and it will be interesting to see how the Chiefs O-line protects the quarterback.
That being said, head coach Andy Reid said most starters won’t play in KC’s preseason finale.
Denver Broncos @ Dallas Cowboys, Thursday, 8PM ET
The 2-1 Broncos have dominated this season, but lost to the Houston Texans 18-17 last week. In that loss, Peyton Manning finished 21-27 with 243 yards and two touchdowns as he and company just made it look easy.
One of Manning’s favorite targets, Wes Welker, suffered a concussion after a hit by D.J. Swearinger, which didn’t sit too well with Manning. After throwing a 29-yard touchdown pass, Manning had a few words for Swearinger and was flagged for taunting.
Montee Ball also started for Denver last week and had four runs and four receptions.
It was also announced this week that kicker Matt Prater will be suspended for four games this season after violating the league's substance abuse policy. Prater claims the incident had to do with drinking beer.
This week, the majority of the starters will sit as they prepare for Week 1 of the real deal, so it will be an opportunity for the backups to show what they can do.
Arizona Cardinals @ San Diego Chargers, Thursday, 10PM ET
The 1-2 Chargers will host the 1-2 Cardinals Thursday night, but will do so without their starters.
Last week, Philip Rivers went 9-10 with 85 yards and a touchdown in their 21-7 loss to the San Francisco 49ers.
Kellen Clemens will most likely get the start on Thursday, and he has been impressive when taking over for Rivers this preseason. Danny Woodhead will also get some more reps as they prepare for Week 1 of the regular season.
The Chargers have had a good preseason and Rivers, who hasn’t played a lot through three games, has performed well and looks ready for regular season play.
Seattle Seahawks @ Oakland Raiders, Thursday 10PM ET
The 2-1 Seahawks will travel to Oakland to take on the 1-2 Raiders. Oakland lost to the Packers 31-21 last week.
So far this preseason, there’s been both positives and negatives for the silver and black. The positive has to be the new and improved defense. Last week, they made some great plays and impressive stops against the Green Bay Packers. Not to mention rookie Khalil Mack had a breakthrough performance.
Offensively, the woes continued, however Maurice Jones-Drew broke through for a 40-yard touchdown run. Matt Schaub continued to be unimpressive, granted his receiving core hasn’t helped him out this preseason, but Schaub has suffered elbow tendinitis which means Derek Carr will get the start this Thursday.
Looking at this matchup, this is a big game for Carr. With Schaub up in the air healthwise, Carr can make a case while getting a lot of reps against a solid Seattle team.
On the injury front, Sio Moore was back on the practice field Tuesday after a scary moment in Green Bay when he had to be carted off the field on a stretcher. DJ Hayden was placed on the PUP list, Tarell Brown and Nick Roach both suffered a concussion last week, but have since returned to practice, and running back Kory Sheets suffered an ankle injury that will end his season.