AFC Notes: Leo Chenal, Antonio Pierce, Broncos, Chiefs, Raiders

Broncos

• Tom Pelissero reports that Broncos’ assistant HC Mike Westhoff has stepped down from his position to monitor a potential health issue.
• According to Pelissero, Westhoff was experiencing problems with his vision last week and underwent MRI testing on Monday. 
• Westhoff said: “It’s not easy to make this decision, but this was a wake-up call that I needed to put my health first. This team is very much headed in the right direction with a strong foundation and a winning culture. I’m grateful to Sean for giving me the opportunity to contribute to a first-class organization and wish the Broncos the very best.”

Chiefs

The Chiefs survived in Week 10 thanks to a blocked field goal by LB Leo Chenal as time expired. Chenal outlined what goes into blocking a field goal and credited their team effort allowing for the big play.

“Sometimes field goal blocks are overlooked,” Chenal said, via SI.com’s Albert Breer. “A lot of starters are in there. Sometimes, you’re tired. Defense will stay on punt return. It’s those same guys, too. We have a group of guys that are going to push themselves and go max effort no matter what. You don’t see that on punt return, the safe one. You don’t see the way our guys are blocking. It’s pretty awesome to see the way they give effort even when you might not be expected to.”

As Kansas City stands at 9-0, Chenal admitted the difficulty in not looking too far into the future. 

“That’s sitting out there—you think about it. But it’s a thing as old as time, that you can’t get stuck looking too far ahead before the race is over. The big thing with us is staying in the moment. That’s another thing that makes it so good with our coaches and players, buying in is staying in the moment. This game, this is the one that matters.”

Raiders

Raiders HC Antonio Pierce refused to use the excuse of having a young roster for their 2-7 season thus far and feels it’s a benefit to have moldable players. 

“I don’t use the excuse we’re playing with a young roster,” Pierce said. “I actually look at that as an advantage for us, right? Because I got a guy that can mold, he’s a sponge, and I can feed him what I want him to be and want him to do and what I want him to look like.”

Pierce knows the need to play better in the second half of the season and is hopeful they can recapture some of last year’s magic that landed him the full-time role. 

“The second half, we need to play our best football,” Pierce said. “And it’s kind of ironic that I took over around this time last year and we played better football at the end of the season. I’ve got to find a way to get that back into these guys, starting with our staff and our players. Make sure that we’re energized, we’re focused, and we’re going to do whatever it takes to get a win in Miami.”