Love lacking for Raiders in NFL power rankings roundup
There’s a long-standing belief that everything and most everyone is against the Raiders.
This week’s NFL power rankings roundup has the stats prove that claim may not be so far-fetched.
The Raiders, tied for first place in the AFC West by virtue of the Broncos’ first loss of the season, won their third game in a row last week. But the Silver and Black showed an average drop of 0.4 places in the five polls sampled here (ESPN, Bleacher Report, USA Today, CBS Sports, The Associated Press).
The Raiders have won some close games. Perhaps a more lopsided win over the struggling Chargers may have sent Oakland up in the charts. But that last-second win – thanks to a botched Chargers field goal attempt – left pollsters unimpressed.
Meanwhile, the Rams’ honeymoon among the NFL’s top dozen teams ended with their home loss to the Bills. They have an average ranking of 16.8 with an average drop of 4.2.
The Chargers (23.0) dropped an average of -3.2 spots thanks to their previously mentioned loss to the Raiders.
The 49ers, who have lost four in a row, are holding tight among the NFL’s worst teams. They are at 30.6, a drop of nearly one place from last week.
Sorting the data:
Raiders
Average rank: 10.0
Average change: -0.4
High/low: 8/12
From CBS Sports (No. 10): “They’re 4-1, but they have some major defensive issues that need to be fixed. Teams are moving the ball easily on that unit.”
Rams
Average rank: 16.8
Average change: -4.2
High/low: 14/19
From ESPN (No. 19): “A trip to Detroit stands in the way of a 4-2 start (best for a coach Jeff Fisher team since the 2010 Titans) or another 3-3 start (Fisher started 3-3 in four of his past five seasons).”
Chargers
Average rank: 23.0
Average change: -3.2
High/low: 27.29
From USA Today (No. 27): “Philip Rivers dubbed his team the “Bad News Bears” after Sunday’s meltdown. Amazingly, 1-4 Bolts have outscored opposition overall.”
49ers
Average rank: 30.6
Average change: -0.8
High/low: 30/31
From USA Today (No. 30): “Colin Kaepernick finally gets his shot to infuse some juice into the NFC’s least-effective passing attack.”
Compiled by Jeff Caraska
This story was originally published October 11, 2016 at 9:15 PM with the headline "Love lacking for Raiders in NFL power rankings roundup."