3 NFL Storylines to Watch in Week 4

The Wild, Wild West

When the Kansas City Chiefs released veteran wide receiver Jeremy Maclin, we could've made the assumption that they were now pivoting toward the future. After all, they had traded up to select quarterback Patrick Mahomes with the 10th overall pick in the NFL Draft and weren't going to contend with checkdown artist Alex Smith, who looked destined to be traded or released this coming offseason.

Fast-forward to today, and the Chiefs are the only 3-0 team in the AFC. Smith is among the top 10 in passing yards and is second in adjusted yards per pass attempt. Mahomes certainly flashed his potential in the preseason, but has to yet to see any action in the regular season.

While the Chiefs will host the Washington Redskins at Arrowhead Stadium on Monday Night Football, a pair of AFC West teams are featured in the second set of Sunday afternoon games in hopes of keeping pace.

As the Los Angeles Chargers keep finding new ways to lose games, the Oakland Raiders and Denver Broncos are each 2-1 and squaring off against one another in Colorado this weekend.

Derek Carr has really struggled in five games against the Broncos. Despite winning the most recent contest without throwing a touchdown, Carr is only averaging 183.6 yards per game against Denver's stout pass defense.

This is also an important game for Trevor Siemian, who was kept out of the end zone in Buffalo last week after scoring a total of seven touchdowns (six passing, one rushing) in the first two weeks. Thankfully for him, the Raiders pass defense is the third-worst in football, per our metrics.