Knowshon Moreno's Hurdle Earns Him Honors and Other AFC West News

It hasn’t always been an easy road for Knowshon Moreno, the former first-round draft pick of the Denver Broncos who had two disappointing years to start his career and was phased out last season in favor of veteran Willis McGahee.

Moreno’s status as a first-round pick didn’t help as it became clear early that he was more Robin than Batman. It appeared that Moreno’s time in Denver was done, but the Broncos didn’t release him at the beginning of the season despite have a stable of other running backs.

After just four starts as a complement to Peyton Manning’s arm, Moreno’s legs have earned him AFC Offensive Player of the Week honors (via DenverBroncos.com). Moreno picked up 126 total yards and a touchdown on 24 touches against the Ravens last Sunday. The performance followed up his 167-yard performance against the Raiders.

Moreno’s performance included 74 first-half yards and a hurdle over Ed Reed. Not many rushers have been able to gain 100 yards on the Ravens over the year and he did it in Baltimore as well. It helps to have Manning’s arm doing the heavy lifting, and Moreno may just become Manning’s next Joseph Addai.

Other AFC West news:

Denver

Jeff Legwold of the Denver Post says Broncos offensive coordinator Mike McCoy has raised his stock as a head coaching candidate for his work with Tim Tebow and Peyton Manning.

Legwold also says the Broncos may have selected Brandon Weeden if Manning didn’t sign last year.

Mike Klis of the Denver Post says the Broncos may need a 14-game winning streak to win the Super Bowl.

Oakland

Moreno wasn’t the only player in the AFC West to earn accolades this week as Sebastian Janikowski earned AFC Special Teams Player of the Week honors (via Raiders.com).

Dave Taxier of the Contra Costa Times summarizes why the Raiders only climbed to 30th in the AP power rankings after a shutout win against Kansas City.

San Diego

Michael Gehlken of U-T San Diego reports that the Chargers have placed Malcom Floyd, Reggie Wells and Ryan Mathews on injured reserve.

Gehlken also takes a closer look at Mathews and his second broken clavicle this season.

Kansas City

Adam Teicher of the Kansas City Star says the Chiefs may have seen the last of Dwayne Bowe in red.

Brady Quinn has helped develop a post-career training program, according to Randy Covitz of the Kansas City Star. There’s an obvious joke to be made here, but it looks like a genuinely good program for current and former players to utilize.