Football is officially back as the first week of preseason is in the books.  Usually, the first week of preseason is rather boring as the starters are only in the game for a few plays, but it gives fans the opportunity to see some up and coming talent.  Now last week, only two teams from the AFC West won their preseason opener; the Denver Broncos and the Oakland Raiders.  Denver beat the San Francisco 49ers 10-6, while the Raiders beat the Dallas Cowboys 19-17.  The Kansas City Chiefs lost to the New Orleans Saints 17-3 and the San Diego Chargers were blown out by the Seattle Seahawks 31-10.  Now lets take a look at the week two matchups for the AFC West.

First up, the defending AFC West Champion, Denver Broncos.  The Broncos will travel to Seattle to take on the Seahawks in what should be a good game.  In week one, Peyton Manning only played one series as he went 2-4 with 13 yards.  New aquisition, Wes Welker didn’t get a hand on the ball in last weeks game, but was out there on the field.  This game, like theirs last week, should be a low scoring game because both teams have great defenses.  They also both have excellent offenses as well, and are stacked with talent from first string to last.  This should be a fun game to watch because both teams are going to be serious contenders come regular season.

Now onto the Oakland Raiders who travel to New Orleans to take on the Saints.  With the Raiders there’s a lot going on and a lot to look for this preseason.  The silver and black have an immense amount of competition this year and no one's job is safe.  Most importantly there's the quarterback situation which is the most entertaining competition in Raiders camp.  Both Matt Flynn and Terrelle Pryor did well in week one, and have been impressive in camp, but what they do in the games will determine their fate for 2013.  Last week, all four quarterbacks played a quarter, and there’s also an interesting competition with quarterback Matt McGloin and fourth round draft pick Tyler Wilson, who has found himself fourth on the depth chart due to a poor camp performance.  Another player to keep an eye on is wide receiver Brice Butler who has been having a great camp and made a nice touchdown catch last week.   The punter position is also up for grabs and Chris Kluwe and Marquette King will continue to battle for the job.  Once again, the Raiders will be without D.J. Hayden as he has yet to be cleared by doctors, but is expected to play in the game next week.  Another game, another opportunity for the young Raiders to prove themselves and earn their respectful positions. 

The Kansas City Chiefs will host the San Francisco 49ers and this is sure to be an interesting matchup as quarterback Alex Smith will go against his former team.  Last week Smith was 7-8 with 68 yards in his Chiefs debut,  Saints.  Running back Jamaal Charles was carted off the field Monday, due to a foot strain, and the x-rays came back negative.  The Chiefs will be able to see their other options at running back in this weeks game.  This will be a fun one to watch to see how Smith does against his former team. 

Lastly, the San Diego Chargers will travel to Chicago to take on the Bears.  Last week Philip Rivers was 5-6 with 45 yards in their loss to the Seahawks.  The Chargers have already lost Danario Alexander to a torn ACL, and now Malcom Floyd was carted off the field, but further tests revealed a knee sprain although Floyd and the Chargers will seek a second opinion. The Chargers have lost players due to serious injury already, and losing Floyd would be a devastating blow to this team.  This is an opportunity for 2013 draft pick Keenan Allen to shine in order to get some playing time this season.  In this weeks game, they will be able to get a good look at their options at wide receiver as they will throughout the rest of preseason. 

Early on in preseason not a lot can be determined about a team, but the coaches are able to get a good look at their young players and make roster decisions for the season.  Now that they’ve gotten back to live action in a football game, there should be improvements by everyone.