For a division that wasn’t expected to do much this year, the AFC West teams have showed their competitiveness through the first two weeks.  All four teams in the AFC West won their matchups in Week 2.  As Week 3 approaches these teams will face some good teams on the national stage and it all kicks off on Thursday night with the Kansas City Chiefs.

The 2-0 Chiefs will travel to Philly to take on the 1-1 Philadelphia Eagles.  The Chiefs are coming off another win as they’ve matched their 2012 win total with two.  They defeated the Dallas Cowboys 17-16.  The Eagles lost to the Chargers 33-30 in their home opener.  Alex Smith has had a good start with the Chiefs and is proving to be a great pickup for Kansas City after his two impressive starts.  The Chiefs defense has also been impressive as they have made the big stops when needed, as was the case last week.  This team is playing like a completely different team due to the additions of Andy Reid and Smith.  They will play on a national stage and look to be 3-0 heading into Week 4, which is very possible against a struggling Philadelphia team.

The 2-0 Denver Broncos host the 1-1 Oakland Raiders on Monday Night Football, for the 17th time which is the most any two teams have battled on Monday Night.  This is one of the best rivalries in football, but lately the Broncos have been dominant.  The Broncos are coming off another impressive win, as they beat Peyton Manning’s little brother, Eli Manning and the New York Giants 41-23.  The Raiders are coming off a W of their own against the Jacksonville Jaguars as they won 19-9 in their home opener.  The Raiders have shown a lot of improvement this year and have that competitive Raiders attitude that had been lost for some time, but they have their hands full this week with Manning leading the Broncos offense, not to mention the Denver defense is pretty good; despite losing Von Miller to suspension.  The loss of Denver’s left tackle, Ryan Clady will also help the Raiders pass rush go after Manning.  This Raiders defense, by the way, is tied for first in the NFL with nine sacks.  Oakland’s Tyvon Branch has suffered what is feared to be a fractured fibula, and the loss of Branch will effect the much improved secondary.   The Raiders would love to pull a huge upset and beat their rival in their home territory, but that’s not a likely task for this team right now.  In order for the silver and black to make this a game, they’ll need a stellar performance by Terrelle Pryor, and the defense will have to get to Manning and keep him off the field.  The Broncos will try to remain perfect on the year, while the Raiders look to upset and improve to 2-1. 

The 1-1 San Diego Chargers are on the road again this week as they’ll be in Tennessee to take on the 1-1 Titans.  The Chargers must feel pretty good at this point, because they beat the Eagles 33-30 in their home opener and the last four Superbowl champs have beaten the Eagles in their home opener.  So there’s your hope, Charger fans.  The Titans are coming off a 30-24 loss against the Houston Texans.  Philip Rivers has shown a lot of improvement from the last couple years as he led the Chargers offense to their most yards in a game since 1985 last week.  He’s also been very good under pressure this season, but again there’s only been two games on the season.  The Chargers weren’t expected to play well at all this year, but so far they’ve shown a lot of competitiveness and have been involved in close games.  This game should be no different, and the Chargers have a chance to be 2-1 heading into Week 4.