Silver And Black Pride
The AFC West is littered with teams above .500.
All except for one.
The galloping Denver Broncos are atop the division with a 6-2 overall record (0-1 in the AFC West) after an impressive beatdown of the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday. The energized Los Angeles Chargers are in second at 5-3 overall (3-0 in division play). The resurgent Kansas City Chiefs are 4-3 (1-1) while the repugnant Raiders are at in the cellar at 2-5 (0-2).
This was before the Chiefs went toe-to-toe with the Washington Commanders (3-4) tonight.
The West is the only division in the AFC with three teams above the .500 mark (of course, this changes if the Commanders topple the Chiefs). Flip it to the NFC and there’s two divisions that can say the same: The North and West.
The AFC West — considered to be a highly-competitive division early in the 2025 campaign is living up to the billing. The frontrunner Broncos are trampling opponents, the Bolts are zapping the opposition, and the Chiefs got reinforcements at the opportune time and are looking dangerous once more.
And then, there’s the Raiders.
With 10 games left, can the Silver & Black clime out of the AFC West cellar?
Anything is possible in the NFL and Las Vegas running the table — no matter how unlikely — is in the realm of possibility (as miniscule as it might be). Raider Nation’s confidence in the team is at an all-time low after the Week 7 debacle against the Chiefs (31-0 defeat) with only six percent confident in the team’s direction the latest SB Nation Reacts.
Head coach Pete Carroll and his Raiders had a much-needed by week and we’ll see soon enough if the hiatus led to some self reflection and positive changes for Las Vegas moving forward.
This begins this week as the Raiders prep for a Week 9 home game against the Jacksonville Jaguars (4-3). Liam Coen’s group from the AFC South is also coming off a bye week after dropping back-to-back games to the Seattle Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams heading into the hiatus. Jacksonville was limited to 19 total points (12 against Seattle, seven against the Los Angeles) while allowing 55 total points (20 against the Seahawks, 35 against the Rams).
Granted, the latter of those two matchups was a trip to London.
From there, Las Vegas plays in back-to-back primetime billings in Week 10 and 11. The AFC West tilt against Denver is a Thursday night clash in Mile High on Amazon Prime. While the contest against Dallas is a home Monday night showdown with the Cowboys. These two games mark the final time the Raiders are slated to be on prime time television in 2025.
Reversing course isn’t going to be easy, but things that are worth it never are. The Year 1 Carroll Raiders are a hot mess and the team is the only one that can dig itself out of this considerable hole....
