AFC Notes: J.K. Dobbins, Bo Nix, Broncos, Chargers, Raiders

Broncos

Broncos rookie QB Bo Nix didn’t have an answer as to why they weren’t able to move the ball against the Steelers, but accepted the blame for the offense’s shortcomings.

“I don’t know,” Nix said, via Broncos Wire. “The film will tell us. I thought they had a good plan, and they executed well. They just got to the ball and tackled. We had a hard time getting in third-and-manageables again. We can’t keep just making that excuse. We have to start playing better, I think. It starts with me, and then it goes to the rest of the squad.”

Nix was asked if he was disappointed about the lack of improvement from week 1.

“I don’t know that that’s necessarily the case,” Nix said of not improving. “I think when you go back and watch the film, I think I took a good step. Sometimes good steps don’t turn into wins though. So it’s a long process. It’s a tough league for a reason. We just have to continue as a crew, as a group, find ways to get better, and build and take steps. I have to do the same.”

Chargers

Chargers RB J.K. Dobbins believes he has more left to prove after a strong debut performance against the Raiders.

“I think I can be way better, you know?” Dobbins said, via PFT. “We’ll see. If I get those long runs again, I’m going to take it to the crib.”

Dobbins believes the team has the potential to be special this season under new HC Jim Harbaugh.

“We got a lot of room to improve,” Dobbins said. “We didn’t start out good — had some bonehead mistakes, had some penalties, some false starts — we just got to focus up. Great teams, they don’t get it until they get it. You see it, and it’s like, ‘Oh, wow, that teams look scary.’ But you can see we have that. We have the tools, we have the talent. We just have to put it all together, and once we put it all together, it’s going to be good to see.”

• Chargers QB Justin Herbert said he had an X-ray done after getting rolled up on in Week 2 and he will know more in the following days. (Kris Rhim)
• Los Angeles HC Jim Harbaugh announced Herbert’s X-rays came back negative. (Daniel Popper)

Raiders

Raiders HC Antonio Pierce used the fact that the team was 10-point underdogs heading into the game against Baltimore as motivation for his team.

“It’s big and a win where we were 10-point underdogs — disrespect in the National Football League,” Pierce said, via PFT. “I’ve been in the game a long time, not many times that teams get picked to lose by 10 points. Our guys took it personally. That was good. We’ve got a lot of clean-up to do tomorrow.”

• Raiders DE Maxx Crosby ($11,255), S Marcus Epps ($11,817), CB Jack Jones ($5,472), and DT Christian Wilkins ($11,255) were fined for Unnecessary Roughness following Week 1.