The Las Vegas Raiders opened up the 2023 NFL season with a 17-16 win over the Denver Broncos in Week 1. After an impressive and hard-fought victory, where does PFT put the Silver and Black in their latest rankings after one week?
While rankings are subjective, they give a fanbase an insight into what the national media thinks of their team. As for the Raiders, the team is moving in the right direction. Speaking of going down a positive path, cornerback Jakorian Bennett earned praise for his NFL debut.
Although Week 2 is right around the corner, let’s put a wrap to Week 1 and dive into the latest surrounding Las Vegas.
Raiders remain in the bottom 10 in the latest PFT ranking
The Silver and Black are 1-0 to start Year 2 under head coach Josh McDaniels. It wasn’t the prettiest of wins, but division games are often the ugliest, considering how well each opposition knows one another. So, the Raiders likely didn’t earn any style points to help their ranking.
Now, where does PFT have McDaniels and Co.? After Week 1, PFT has the Raiders at the No. 24 spot. The squad moved up four places from the No. 28 position the outlet had them in to start this season.
Still, there’s an opportunity to leave the bottom 10 and move toward the middle of the pack with a possible Week 2 win. The Raiders will remain on the road when they travel to Western New York to face the Buffalo Bills.
A 2-0 start for Las Vegas would grab many people’s attention and ask whether this team is starting to cook something special. Furthermore, having two victories on the road against teams that aspire to be playoff participants will build positive momentum to show they’re going down the right path.
So what do you think, Raiders fans? Do you agree with this ranking? Or should PFT put Las Vegas higher?
Jakorian Bennett earns praise from Josh McDaniels after NFL debut
Tyree Wilson had all the eyes on defense as the No. 7 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft made his debut. However, another player on that unit was also playing his first game in Jakorian Bennett. The 23-year-old didn’t have an interception but did register seven solo tackles.
Going into this season, the Las Vegas secondary was a key weakness on the team. It’s why the front office drafted Bennett in the fourth round to go along with other additions to improve the group. Nonetheless, the Maryland product is making an excellent first impression after one game.
“JB [Bennett] did a nice job, had a few opportunities there to make some open field tackles, and I thought he did a decent job of getting the guy to the ground,” McDaniels told reporters in a virtual press conference on Monday (h/t SI’s Aidan Champion).
“So, our corners need to do that if they’re going to go in there and crack the safeties and all the rest of it, so at some point, the corner’s going to have to be out there isolated on the edge one-on-one, and I thought JB did a good job of getting them to the ground.”
Bennett and the Raiders secondary will look to keep the Bills passing game quiet. Furthermore, the Las Vegas secondary will need to be wary of Josh Allen, who hopes to have a bounce-back performance following Buffalo’s Week 1 loss to the New York Jets. Allen had one touchdown and three interceptions with a QB rating of 62.7.
Can Bennett and the defense keep Allen’s turnover touch going? Or will Las Vegas have to get into a shootout on Sunday?
*Top Photo: Jack Dempsey/AP
