AFC Notes: Broncos, Chiefs, Raiders

Broncos

• Broncos HC Vic Fangio said Teddy Bridgewater (concussion) returned to Thursday’s practice on a limited basis. (Aric DiLalla)
• Broncos TE Albert Okwuegbunam suffered an injured hamstring in Wednesday’s practice and could miss Week 5. (Mike Klis)

Chiefs

Regarding the Chiefs’ 2-2 start to the season, QB Patrick Mahomes believes they showed a difference in “attitude and our mindset” in Week 4’s 42-30 win over the Eagles. 

“I think it was just our attitude and our mindset,” Mahomes, via Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk. “I think we knew that especially last week but even the week before we didn’t execute to the level that we wanted to, especially at the end of the game. And so we just kind of preached that throughout the week. It was finishing every drill, it was finishing every practice, finishing the meeting room. And so when we got in the game today even after I threw the dumb interception that I threw, I think guys stepped right back up and we moved on and we kind of made it happen. I thought it was big of us to kind of do that to get to a hostile environment against a good football team.”

Mahomes feels the team showed some complacency in their two losses and inability to make big plays. 

“I think it is a little bit,” Mahomes said. “I think it’s just kind of we expect it to happen without even having to put in the work to kind of put ourselves in the position to do that. I mean, at times we’ve been able to do it. We’ve been able to rely on kind of our just us making plays happen and making things happen at the end of the game. I think you see now is the defenses are going to make us drive the entire field. They’re going to make us go down one by one and be surgical as we kind of make these drives to try to win games. And I think this week showed that we can do that, especially as we ran the football. It shows that we’re a more balanced offense and can do everything.”

Mahomes points out that defenses have begun trying to take away the deep pass and thinks their rushing attack is helping their productivity. 

“I think us being able to run the football the way we’ve been able run it these last few weeks will be crucial on us getting defenses to come up and have to respect the run game,” Mahomes said. “And so as I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized you can’t just throw it like it’s the Big 12 every single time. You’ve got to be able to run the football and that sets up the pass and I think will kind of help us as a lot the season goes on.”

• Chiefs HC Andy Reid said WR Josh Gordon believes he is ready to play: “He feels like he’s in pretty good shape and he wants to get going.” (Adam Teicher)

Raiders

Raiders HC Jon Gruden said he’s not panicking about their offensive line and is confident that they can continue developing their young talent. 

“We’re considering all options, but we like our linemen,” Gruden said, via Adam Hill of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “We really do. We did have some pretty good outings. We are not going to hit the panic button. We’ve got to keep coaching. We’ve got to keep developing these guys.”

Gruden believes their offensive line can learn from their poor performance in Week 4 against the Chargers. 

“Sometimes the medicine is what we all need,” Gruden said. “We all need a taste of that medicine, even though we don’t like the taste. You’ve got to get back to work. You’ve got to get back on the horse. That horse will throw you off once in awhile. And if you know anything about Bosa and some of these guys in this league, they are pretty good at throwing you off your horse. So, you’ve got to be mentally tough and keep fighting.”

Regarding the running game’s lack of production, Gruden mentions that they’ve had “a lot of moving parts” with their offensive line and running backs group. 

“We’ve just had a lot of moving parts,” Gruden said. “I mean the different running backs; we’ve had a number of different offensive linemen. We knew we were going to be young up front to start the year, but we lost a couple guards. It’s not been easy. We brought in some new players that we really didn’t even have during training camp. So, it’s a work in progress. It’s not easy. It’s a tough thing to do in this league, running the football. ”

• Raiders first-round OT Alex Leatherwood got reps at right guard in Thursday’s practice while Brandon Parker worked at right tackle. (Vincent Bonsignore)