Embarrassing loss amplifies struggles. Raiders sink lower in rankings, facing a brutal schedule and dimming playoff hopes.
The Las Vegas Raiders hit a new low last Sunday against the Cleveland Browns in a 24-10 loss. Going up against a quarterback in his first career start, Shedeur Sanders, the Raiders were outscored by two scores on their home field. As a result, Las Vegas is yet again falling in Bleacher Report’s Week 13 power rankings.
They're now ranked 30th in the league, behind only the New York Jets and Tennessee Titans. It’s a deserved ranking for a team that was outplayed by the then 2-8 Browns and has now lost all but one of their last 10 games. For Raiders fans, things are somehow only getting worse as the season drags on.
“Looking at the attack-style defenses this team plays post-Thanksgiving, it may not win another game this season,” the B/R NFL Staff wrote about the state of the Raiders in their ranking.
Scarily, it isn’t going to get any easier for Las Vegas. Their upcoming schedule sees them taking on an above .500 team five out of their final six games. It truly is a possibility that there will be no more wins in Las Vegas this season, but at this point, maybe that wouldn’t be so bad.
It’s already been as bad as it can get for the silver and black this season, and that was when they were trying their best to be a winning team. That has taken them to a 2-9 record, one of the worst in football. If winning games isn’t going to happen for head coach Pete Carroll and the Raiders, the focus should shift to the future.
Getting a top-three pick in next spring’s draft would certainly lessen the sting that this season has inflicted. The rest of the season should also be used to give the younger guys as many opportunities as possible.
They did a good job of that on Sunday with rookie running back Ashton Jeanty, getting him 25 touches in the game. It’d still be nice to see other young offensive talents like tight end Brock Bowers and receiver Tre Tucker take on big spikes in involvement for the rest of the season, because at this point, what damage could it do?
The Raiders’ next matchup comes against the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday. With the way the team has responded and spoken after each loss this season, fans should expect much more of the same this weekend.