Silver And Black Pride
After another blowout loss, the Las Vegas Raiders have entered the “Could [insert college team] beat the Raiders?” discussion. It’d be hard to argue that Indiana or Ohio State couldn’t at least give them a game. Hell, maybe even James Maddison gives Las Vegas a run for its money!
Okay, maybe that’s a bit dramatic. But the Silver and Black sit at the bottom of the Week 16 NFL Power Rankings across the media, and ranking 33rd in the 32-team league would honestly feel more appropriate at this point.
32. Las Vegas Raiders
Last week: 32
Woah. A wild stat from the AP: the Raiders’ loss to Philadelphia drops the team to a .500 record since the AFL merger. A perfect 434-434-6 and the first time since 1970 that the team has not had a winning record as a franchise. — Conor Orr
Once considered the “Team of the Decades”, this franchise has really fallen off since the early 2000s. The past 20 years have been a constant cycle of dysfunction that doesn’t appear to be ending anytime soon. The hope is that Tom Brady’s championship pedigree is the perfect antidote for the disease(s) that have plagued the Raiders, but Brady’s first full season as owner hasn’t exactly inspired confidence.
32. Las Vegas Raiders
Last week: 32
The Raiders now boast a pair of 31-zip losses this season in which the offense failed to reach 100 total yards and the defense allowed more than 350. Not many teams can claim this, so the Raiders certainly have put themselves in rare air indeed. They’ve lost eight straight games and eight total this season by double-digit points. Sunday was also the ninth time they’ve failed to top the 17-point mark offensively in what has been an utter disaster of a season in Pete Carroll’s first year. Will he get a second? Does he even want another crack at fixing this? Even with a few clear building blocks, this looks like a massive reconstruction that requires time and patience, and at 74, it’s fair to wonder if Carroll has the gumption for that — or even the opportunity, depending on what management decides in a few weeks. — Eric Edholm
For comparison, the 2024 Raiders lost nine games by double digits and didn’t score more than 17 points just five times. I get the feeling they’re in for another two-possession or more loss this weekend against the Houston Texans to pull even with last year’s team. Also, there were a lot of games where they were competitive for about three quarters and the other team pulled away late, while Las Vegas has been getting blown out from the jump a lot this season.
32. Las Vegas Raiders
Last week: 32
Extension candidate: Cornerback Eric Stokes
The Raiders’ starting cornerback is one of the few players who made a strong...
