AFC West

The Las Vegas Raiders' leadership group, including quarterback Derek Carr and defensive end Maxx Crosby, reportedly held a players-only meeting after Sunday's loss to the Tennessee Titans, which dropped the team's record to 0-3.

Aaron Wilson of Pro Football Network reported Wednesday the Raiders are "taking stock" in their sluggish start and trying to figure out how to turn the season around before it's too late.

"It's complicated," multiple sources told Wilson.

Las Vegas reached the playoffs with a 10-7 record last season before getting knocked out in the wild-card round by the eventual AFC champion Cincinnati Bengals.

Thus, expectations were high following an offseason in which the team hired Josh McDaniels as its new head coach and made a blockbuster trade for longtime Green Bay Packers wide receiver Davante Adams.

Things haven't clicked out of the gate, however, and the margin for error is already getting thin since the Raiders play in the loaded AFC West.

Team sources described the offensive line as a "mess" and also singled out the linebackers and secondary as areas of the roster not playing up to the necessary standard, per Wilson.

Carr has been sacked seven times in three games, while the team's defense has forced just two turnovers so far.

One source told Wilson they remained confident the Raiders are going to flip the script.

"This is an adjustment period," the source said. "Josh is showing people how he wants things done. Rome wasn't built in a day. When they have success, once they start winning, people are going to jump on the bandwagon. Watch and see."

While Vegas has star power on both sides of the ball, led by Carr, Adams, Crosby and tight end Darren Waller, the schedule doesn't do the team any favors as it attempts to break out of the early slump, with games against the Denver Broncos and Kansas City Chiefs coming up next.

Things do get a little more favorable after their Week 6 bye, but it took an 11-5 record to reach the playoffs in 2020 and a 9-7-1 mark last year, so each passing loss reduces the wiggle room.

It'll be interesting to see whether the players-only meeting has any tangible impact when the Raiders return to action Sunday against the 2-1 Broncos.

Eli Manning didn't mean any disrespect to Russell Wilson when he mocked the Denver Broncos quarterback's contract during the ManningCast on Monday.

Manning gave his viewpoint to Michael McCarthy of Front Office Sports:

"No, I don't think we're trying to be critical. I think we always try to support the guys that are in the game. I think sometimes, 'Hey, it’s live TV.' I never try to take a real shot at somebody. I think that was obviously a very outrageous joke—because a punter had 10 punts. Nothing against Russell. He's going to do great."

The question came after Manning's zinger Monday night:

"They should've paid that punter $235 million instead of Russell [Wilson]." @EliManning went there 😅 pic.twitter.com/ridC2MdRji

— ESPN (@espn) September 27, 2022

Denver's Corliss Waitman punted 10 times during an eventual 11-10 win over the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday night. Wilson, who signed a five-year, $245 million contract extension before the season, finished with 184 passing yards and no touchdowns.

The Broncos are 2-1 to start the season, although Wilson has struggled with just two passing touchdowns and a 83.2 quarterback rating that would be the worst of his career.

Denver's 14.3 points scored per game ranks 31st in the NFL.

Manning did give Wilson the benefit of the doubt as he gets used to a new team following his trade with the Seattle Seahawks.

"It's hard going into a new offense, a new system," Manning said. "It takes some time. It's not going to be perfect after three weeks. I've been in that situation. It can take five or six weeks before you get comfortable with the coaches."

Considering Wilson has nine Pro Bowl selections in his career, he should get a long leash to figure things out in Denver.

Manning, meanwhile, will look to get off more quips in his alternate Monday Night Football broadcast alongside his brother, Peyton.

Los Angeles Chargers defensive end Joey Bosa appears to be in danger of missing time this season.

Chargers head coach Brandon Staley told reporters on Monday that Bosa is dealing with a "significant" groin injury and he is considered week-to-week.

Bosa suffered the injury in the first quarter of Sunday's loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars and didn't return to the game. In his absence, veteran linebacker Kyle Van Noy and second-year pro Chris Rumph II rotated opposite star edge-rusher Khalil Mack.

Losing Bosa for any amount of time would be a major setback to the Chargers defense. The 27-year-old racked up 58 sacks in his first six seasons since being drafted No. 3 overall in 2016. In three games this year, he has seven tackles, 1.5 sacks and a forced fumble.

The Chargers are already reeling from multiple significant injuries through the first three weeks of the 2022 season. Pro Bowl offensive tackle Rashawn Slater is expected to miss the remainder of the season after suffering a torn left biceps tendon. Star quarterback Justin Herbert played the full game on Sunday despite dealing with fractured rib cartilage.

Los Angeles wide receiver Keenan Allen missed his second straight game with a hamstring injury. Cornerback J.C. Jackson (ankle) and center Corey Linsey (knee) were also ruled out against Jacksonville.

Many had expected the Chargers to take a significant step forward this season and compete for a division title in the AFC West. These injuries put a big dent in the team's aspirations for this year.

Los Angeles (1-2) will look to bounce back from two consecutive losses when it takes on the Houston Texans (0-2-1) on Sunday.

The money may have been longer in Las Vegas than Green Bay, but Davante Adams is learning the grass isn't greener.

The Raiders wideout said he is "frustrated and angry" amid the team's 0-3 start.

"Frustrated and angry. Expect more," Adams told reporters after Sunday's 24-22 loss to the Tennessee Titans. "It's not easy to win in this league. We know that. Nobody's naive to the fact that nobody’s just going to lay down and just give you a victory, but at the end of the day we expect more and we will do better as we move forward."

Adams finished with five catches for 36 yards and a touchdown, his second straight disappointing outing after starting the season with a 10-catch, 141-yard game against the Los Angeles Chargers. He's compiled just 48 total receiving yards over the last two weeks, which likely compounds the sense of frustration.

The Raiders are one of just two remaining winless teams three weeks into the NFL season. The other is the Houston Texans, a team almost no one thought had a chance of competing for a postseason berth. Las Vegas was a wild-card team a year ago and came into 2022 with massive expectations after trading for Adams and hiring Josh McDaniels as head coach.

All parties have failed to live up to the hype three weeks into the season. Adams looks like he sorely misses Aaron Rodgers, who has the Packers out to a 2-1 start, while McDaniels' second chance at being a head coach is looking an awful lot like the first.

Adams says he wants his new team to "stay the course," but they're quickly falling behind in a competitive AFC West.

Denver Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson has been off to a slow start this season, but Sunday, he showed why the team gave up so much to acquire him in a blockbuster trade with the Seattle Seahawks this offseason.

Wilson flashed his vintage form to help lead the Broncos to an 11-10 comeback victory at Mile High Stadium on Sunday Night Football. He finished 20-of-33 for 184 yards with no touchdowns and no turnovers.

Wilson engineered a 12-play, 80-yard drive in the fourth quarter that was capped by the go-ahead rushing touchdown by running back Melvin Gordon III. It was apparent during the drive that Wilson took a little more control, utilizing his legs more and calling audibles at the line of scrimmage. It was reminiscent of his days with the Seahawks.

Sunday's performance was far from perfect, as Wilson struggled for much of the game before the late scoring drive. The 33-year-old did not look like his old self through the first two weeks of the season, but a gritty victory like this is a step in the right direction for him. Perhaps it will spark something within Wilson and the Broncos offense moving forward.

NFL Twitter showered Wilson with praise for his return to form on Sunday night.

Finally I see some OLD RUSS 👨‍🍳… nice drive

— LeSean Shady Mccoy (@CutonDime25) September 26, 2022

That’s win wilson is most dangerous. When scrambling. When he was younger my goshhhhhh

— Patrick Willis (@PatrickWillis52) September 26, 2022

Russell Wilson finally decided to become the version of himself that 49ers fans know all too well this drive.

— Dean Straka (@DWStraka49) September 26, 2022

There’s some vintage, Russ.

— Joe Fann (@Joe_Fann) September 26, 2022

That was old Russ

— Tony Jones (@Tjonesonthenba) September 26, 2022

That was old Russ

— Tony Jones (@Tjonesonthenba) September 26, 2022

Stellar drive from Russell Wilson there. Crazy how many times #49ers fans have seen that movie.

— Joe Fann (@Joe_Fann) September 26, 2022

That’s the most authentic Russell Wilson drive in Denver. All it lacked from his game would have been a deep one.

— Charles Robinson (@CharlesRobinson) September 26, 2022

Russell Wilson now has 26 fourth-quarter comebacks, already two as a Bronco. He only trails Brady, Stafford and Ryan among active QBs

— Jake Shapiro (@Shapalicious) September 26, 2022

Russell Wilson's his best in the 4th quarter.

That's what he's done tonight.

— Zac Stevens (@ZacStevensDNVR) September 26, 2022

18-4 for Russell Wilson against the 49ers, with many of those wins following a formula reminiscent to tonight. But this was particularly extreme — Denver crowd was even booing the 3-and-outs; 49ers offense managed to be situationally worse, which was hard to do

— David Lombardi (@LombardiHimself) September 26, 2022

The Broncos had high expectations coming into the season after acquiring Wilson. So far, the team has not performed the way it had hoped, but Sunday's win should provide a confidence boost.

If Wilson can continue to be the player who earned nine Pro Bowl selections in 10 years in Seattle, it would lead to success in Denver.

The Broncos (2-1) will look to carry the momentum from Sunday's win into next week's division matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders (0-3).

It's safe to say former NFL running back LeSean McCoy is not a fan of Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy.

Bieniemy and quarterback Patrick Mahomes had a heated exchange heading into the halftime locker room during Sunday's game against the Indianapolis Colts, and McCoy replied to an Instagram post that all the offensive coordinator does is argue with players:

Shady McCoy weighs in on EB😬😬 pic.twitter.com/Nq33xGnyDo

— Braiden Turner (@bturner23) September 26, 2022

This is not the first time McCoy has criticized Bieniemy.

During an appearance on the I Am Athlete podcast in May, Shady said Bieniemy has not been hired as a head coach in the NFL for a reason.

"... Listen, because some players he talks to them a certain way and some players would take it," McCoy said. "I wouldn't take it, like 'whoa.' ... That's the reason why that every year they hype him up to get a job, and then when the time comes, nobody hires him because they know what type of coach he really is."

This exchange between Pat Mahomes and OC Eric Bieniemy 👀🍿

(via @NFLonCBS)pic.twitter.com/tvOMDPC9dl

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) September 25, 2022

McCoy appeared in 13 games for the Chiefs during the 2019 campaign and had 465 yards and four touchdowns on the ground as more of a role player than a leading contributor.

As for Sunday's game, the Colts stunned the Chiefs with a 20-17 victory. Kansas City scored just three points after halftime and the exchange between offensive coordinator and quarterback.

The Kansas City Chiefs haven't had the high-powered offense we're used to seeing, but star quarterback Patrick Mahomes isn't making any excuses for the team's slow start.

Mahomes told reporters after Sunday's 20-17 loss to the Indianapolis Colts that he doesn't think chemistry issues with his new wide receivers are causing the offensive struggles.

"I don't expect any growing pains,'' he said. "Obviously have new players and you don't know everybody's going to respond to tough situations. We've got to jell all together. It starts with me."

After a 44-point outburst in Week 1 against the Arizona Cardinals, the Chiefs have totaled just 44 points in their last two games. Mahomes threw for 262 yards, a touchdown and an interception in Sunday's loss, which came as a surprise against a struggling Colts team.

Kansas City lacked its usual efficiency, scoring just two touchdowns in four trips to the red zone. The team also missed a chip-shot field goal in the fourth quarter and failed to convert a fake field goal. A muffed punt gave the Colts the ball back inside the 5-yard line and led to a touchdown.

"We've got to make it so those little mistakes don't cause the loss,'' Mahomes said. "We had multiple chances to get in the end zone, and if we get [in] the end zone one time, don't stall out in the red zone, get seven [instead of the missed field goal in the fourth quarter], the game's over."

Mahomes is still learning to integrate receivers JuJu Smith-Schuster and Marquez Valdes-Scantling into the offense. Both of them are in their first year in Kansas City after signing as free agents, but they have yet to score a touchdown so far this season.

Mahomes was seen expressing his frustration to offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy near the end of the first half after the team ran out the clock instead of attempting to get into field-goal range.

"I wanted to go try to score,'' Mahomes said. "That's just who I am. We were in a tough situation."

The Chiefs will look to bounce back next week in a marquee matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

An apparent argument between Patrick Mahomes and Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy was caught on camera at halftime during Sunday's loss to the Indianapolis Colts, but head coach Andy Reid claims the two did not get into a confrontation.

"If you heard the words, that wasn't—I don't know how it looked to you guys, but that wasn't a confrontation at all," Reid told reporters after the game. "That's not what it was."

This exchange between Pat Mahomes and OC Eric Bieniemy 👀🍿

(via @NFLonCBS)pic.twitter.com/tvOMDPC9dl

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) September 25, 2022

After video of Mahomes and Bieniemy surfaced on Twitter, there was speculation that Mahomes wasn't happy with the play calls entering halftime, including the handoff to Jerick McKinnon with 20 seconds left that ended up being the team's final play before the end of the second quarter.

The Chiefs entered the third quarter with a 14-10 lead.

Mahomes revealed his side of the story while speaking with reporters after the loss, via ESPN's Adam Teicher:

"I wanted to go try to score. That's just who I am. We were in a tough situation. I believe it was second- or third-and -20, something like that, and probably the smart decision was to go to halftime. But I'm always going to want to score. I pretty much just said, 'Let me have a chance at it,' and he was just like, 'Let's get to the locker room and get to the next half.'

"I don't know if that's an altercation. That was the end of the conversation.''

Kansas City's offense was underwhelming in Sunday's loss.

Mahomes completed 20-of-35 passes for 262 yards and one touchdown against one interception. He also had four carries for 26 yards.

JuJu Smith-Schuster led Kansas City's receivers with five catches for 89 yards, and McKinnon led running backs with seven carries for 20 yards. Travis Kelce and Clyde Edwards-Helaire also had touchdowns.

In addition to the lack of offense production, the Chiefs missed a field goal in the fourth quarter, failed to convert on a fake field goal and muffed a punt that set up the Colts inside the 5-yard line for a touchdown.

After the game, Mahomes told reporters that the team needs to clean up those mistakes ahead of Week 4:

"We've got to make it so those little mistakes don't cause the loss. We had multiple chances to get in the end zone, and if we get (in) the end zone one time, don't stall out in the red zone, get seven (instead of the missed field goal in the fourth quarter), the game's over.''

The Chiefs enter next weekend's game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday Night Football with a 2-1 record following Sunday's loss.

Los Angeles Chargers defensive end Joey Bosa will undergo testing to determine the severity of a groin injury that ruled him out for the remainder of Sunday's loss against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported the news. Later, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reported that left tackle Rashawn Slater ruptured his biceps tendon and is expected to miss the rest of the season, making Sunday a costly day for Los Angeles.

Bosa is having a solid 2022 campaign, recording 1.5 sacks, one forced fumble, six tackles, two tackles for a loss and four quarterback hits through his first two games.

The 27-year-old has appeared in 16 games in just three of his first six seasons, appearing in 12 games or fewer in the other three campaigns.

The Ohio State product missed two games in 2020 because of a concussion and was also placed in concussion protocol for a second time last season, which resulted in him missing two more games.

Bosa enjoyed a successful season in 2021, recording 10.5 sacks, seven forced fumbles, 51 tackles, five tackles for a loss and 20 quarterback hits. It was his second consecutive year with at least 7.5 sacks.

When Bosa is sidelined, players such as Chris Rumph II and Kyle Van Noy are expected to step up.

The Chargers are 1-2 on the season. If L.A. wants to make the playoffs, and perhaps make a run at the Super Bowl, it will need Bosa healthy.

The Josh McDaniels era in Las Vegas is off to a brutal start as the Raiders fell to 0-3 on the season under their new head coach with a 24-22 loss to the Tennessee Titans on Sunday at Nissan Stadium in Nashville.

After the game, McDaniels didn't mince words when asked about the team's rough start to the year.

"Nobody likes losing. We all feel s--tty," McDaniels told reporters.

McDaniels was hired as head coach of the Raiders in January, replacing interim head coach Rich Bisaccia, who took over after Jon Gruden resigned as head coach following reports that he used racist, anti-gay and misogynistic language in emails over a 10-year period.

With the additions of Davante Adams and Chandler Jones, among others, the Raiders entered the season with high hopes that McDaniels could help lead them past the wild-card round for the first time since the 2002 campaign.

Instead, the Raiders are off to their worst start since the 2018 season.

They fell to the Los Angeles Chargers 24-19 in Week 1, blew a 20-point lead to the Arizona Cardinals in Week 2 and they had every opportunity to get back into their Week 3 matchup against the Titans.

Las Vegas blanked Tennessee after halftime but still couldn't find a way to come back after going down 24-10 in the first half because of a number of mistakes.

Titans All-Pro safety Kevin Byard picked off Raiders quarterback Derek Carr in the end zone with 9:22 remaining in the game, and Kristian Fulton broke up a pass that was targeted for Mack Hollins with 3:33 remaining.

Carr finally connected with Hollins on a nine-yard touchdown pass on a 4th-and-goal to make it a 24-22 game, but the Raiders couldn't convert the two-point conversion or recover the ensuing onside kick as the Titans went on to win.

Carr completed 26 of 44 passes for 303 yards, two touchdowns and one interception, while Hollins led the team's receiving group with eight catches for 158 yards and one touchdown.

Adams, the team's top receiver, finished with five catches for 36 yards and one score, while running back Josh Jacobs rushed for just 66 yards on 13 carries.

Things won't get any easier for the Raiders, either, as they are set to clash with Russell Wilson and the Denver Broncos in Week 4 before meeting Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 5.

Now 0-3 on the season, Las Vegas is going to have a tough time climbing out of the hole its dug itself in the AFC West as the three other teams in the division have recorded at least one win.

If McDaniels' squad continues to struggle, his tenure in Las Vegas could be over very quickly.