The Las Vegas Raiders have been rolling these past two weeks but are still outside the top ten in many power rankings.
The Silver and Black has risen to the occasion these last two games following Jon Gruden’s resignation. Offensively, quarterback Derek Carr has put the team on his back as they have been rolling, dropping 67 points on their opponents during that stretch. The passing offense is clicking with Greg Olson handling the playcalling duties; as a team, the Raiders have totaled 663 passing yards in the last two games. Las Vegas is second in the NFL for passing yards; no doubt it’s a big reason they’re 5-2. However, several media outlets covering the league don’t believe the Raiders belong in their top ten lists.
Raiders Are Top 15 Worthy…
Pro Football Focus currently ranks the Raiders at number 13 in their updated power rankings. With a 5-2 record, PFF says the team has the fifth most difficult remaining schedule along with a 74 percent chance of making the playoffs. On the other hand, CBS Sports has Las Vegas ranked 11th, just one spot outside their top ten. Pete Prisco emphasized ‘Gruden’s scandalous resignation’ as a rallying point along with Derek Carr’s play.
The most noteworthy jump this week came from NFL.com’s Dan Hanzus. He had the Raiders jump to 11 from 15 and gives interim coach Rich Bisaccia his due.
‘The Bisaccia Bump is real! The Raiders improved to 2-0 since Rich Bisaccia took over as interim coach, and you can argue that Las Vegas’ best two games of the season — their most complete efforts, anyway — have come with Jon Gruden sitting on a couch in parts unknown.’
Fans often argue that power rankings don’t mean much in the grand scheme of things. However, one can’t help but notice that the Raiders are garnering plenty of attention. A lot of that stems from the fact that the team has responded following Gruden’s exit by thriving, especially offensively. If the team comes out strong after their bye week and can notch another win or two, they’ll likely crack many of these top ten lists.
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*Top Photo: Don Wright/Associated Press