The Las Vegas Raiders got off to a rough start this past Sunday, with the offense stalling and failing to score a touchdown in the first half. In spite of mounting a second-half comeback, the Silver and Black fell short, losing by five points to the Los Angeles Chargers. It’s only Week 2 in the NFL, so there’s no need to panic just yet. Be that as it may, Pro Football Talk released its first edition of power rankings after the first week of regular-season football.
As far as the Raiders go, you can take a guess, but it shouldn’t surprise you to see that they dropped, if only slightly. Heading into this past weekend, Mike Florio had the Raiders ranked 14th. Following their opening weekend loss, the Raiders dropped a spot. The following is Florio’s stance on Las Vegas after Sunday.
15. Raiders (0-1; No. 14): They’ve got to regroup quickly because things don’t get much easier until their Week 6 bye.
Raider Nation and its relationship with PFT is contentious at times. A lot of it stems from Florio’s analysis of the team and at times, a bit of an agenda regarding quarterback Derek Carr. I mean, No. 4 did block Florio on Twitter. Regardless, the drop is definitely justifiable.
Bills and Chiefs are already on a collision course. pic.twitter.com/u9KDBqPJ28
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) September 13, 2022
The typical Raiders blog is likely telling you that the Silver and Black will be just fine. Fans, on the other hand, are panicking given the issues that everyone witnessed. As it currently stands, the Raiders will be hosting the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday. The Kansas City Chiefs already do a remarkable job of exposing several of the Cards’ weaknesses. Most notably, their run defense and a deficiency in nickel coverage with the Chiefs’ two slot receivers have their way. If the Chiefs defeat the Chargers on Thursday night football and the Raiders emerge victorious, expect some movement in Florio’s rankings.
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*Top Photo: Benjamin Hager/Las Vegas Review-Journal
