After a forgettable performance against the Washington Redskins, the Oakland Raiders head into Week 5 having actually moved up two spots in ESPN’s NFL Power Rankings from No. 30 to No. 28:
No. 32 – Jacksonville Jaguars (0-4)
No. 31 – Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-4)
No. 30 – New York Giants (0-4)
No. 29 – Pittsburgh Steelers (0-4)
No. 28 – Oakland Raiders (1-3)
The Raiders were firing on all cylinders right out of the gate against the Redskins on Sunday scoring 14 unanswered points in the first quarter. Oakland was able to block a punt and immediately score a touchdown as a result.
Matt Flynn also got going quickly hitting tight end Mychal Rivera in the end zone for his first touchdown pass as a Raider, but it was all for nothing as the team failed to score again in the next three quarters. Flynn was unimpressive to say the least as the veteran seemed to play worse with every passing snap.
Terrelle Pryor was stuck on the sidelines due to the young quarterback continuing to show concussion symptoms. Pryor’s presence was never more missed than it was in Week 4 as the outcome of this game with the Redskins could’ve been much different with him under center.
As if the offensive woes wasn’t bad enough, the defense simply couldn’t contain Robert Griffin III in the final three quarters giving up 24 straight points ultimately resulting in the third loss of the season.
As for the rest of the AFC West, each team won their Week 4 matchup and all received a considerable bump in the power rankings.
Here’s the rankings for the rest of the AFC West via ESPN:
No.1 – Denver Broncos (4-0)
No.5 – Kansas City Chiefs (4-0)
No.17 – San Diego Chargers (2-2)
It comes as no surprise that the Broncos have continued to play like the best team in the league absolutely destroying the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 4. The Chargers and Chiefs also came out on top this past week with impressive wins leaving the Raiders sitting in last place in the division.
