Last week the Denver Broncos and Kansas City Chiefs continued their undefeated starts by improving to 5-0 with hard fought victories over the Dallas Cowboys and Tennessee Titans respectively. The San Diego Chargers meanwhile fell to the Oakland Raiders to fall to 2-3 on the season.
The AFC West continues to impress with some fantastic play so far and Week 6 could turn out to be a pivotal week for the division:
Jacksonville Jaguars @ Denver Broncos (1:05 PM, PT, CBS)
This game has already broken a record and the teams haven’t even stepped on the field. The Denver Broncos come into this game as a record 28-point favorite over the lowly Jaguars in a game that could get ugly quickly.
The Broncos edged out the Dallas Cowboys in what is clearly the Game of the Year so far last Sunday and their offense continues to be completely unstoppable. Their 51 points last week matches the Jaguars’ total…for the entire season. Peyton Manning continues to orchestrate everything on offense while the defense makes timely plays when they need to. The Jaguars’ defense has no way to contain the assortment of weapons on the Broncos, nor do they have the offense to keep up with them the way the Cowboys did last week.
Wide receiver Justin Blackmon looked very impressive in his return from a four game suspension, but he won’t be nearly enough for a Jaguars offense that has struggled to generate anything consistent on the offensive side of the ball as mainstay Maurice Jones-Drew has struggled to regain his past form. With the way the Broncos offense is rolling, expect more of the same, mainly Manning and co. racking up points at a record level on their way to another victory.
Indianapolis Colts @ San Diego Chargers (Mon 5:30 PM, PT, ESPN)
The San Diego Chargers are reeling after a disappointing loss in Oakland to the Raiders, and it doesn’t get any easier as Andrew Luck and the Colts come in riding a three game winning streak.
The Chargers offense continues to go as quarterback Philip Rivers goes. With the lack of dependable wide receivers, Rivers has had to rely on TE Antonio Gates and RB Danny Woodhead as his main targets. They will have to find some way to generate offense against a Colts defense giving up less than 16 points per game this season, good for fifth in the league.
Defensively, the Chargers are one of the worst in the league, especially against the pass which does not bode well against a very balanced Colts offensive attack. While they prefer to run the ball with the newly acquired Trent Richardson, Luck has multiple receiving targets in veteran Reggie Wayne, the always dependable Coby Fleener, and big play threat T.Y. Hilton.
The Chargers offense has continually found ways to get points on the board and there is a good chance they will do the same here, but their defense will likely fail them again and if it is close, Andrew Luck is already becoming one of the league’s best fourth quarter QBs. Expect the Chargers to keep it close before Luck mounts another game winning drive as the Colts keep their win streak alive.
