Raiders Stay At No. 31 On ESPN’s NFL Power Rankings
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

The Oakland Raiders put on an impressive display in Week 1 against the Indianapolis Colts far exceeding expectations. Terrelle Pryor turned a lot of heads with his ability to torch the opposing defense with his legs and his arm while the Raiders defense held their ground against a potential playoff team led by up-and-comer Andrew Luck.

Despite Pryor’s performance and the defense showing up, the Colts prevailed with some late-game heroics by Luck and a game-clinching interception by Pryor.

The Raiders may have surprised some people with their performance on Sunday, but it hasn’t changed the outlook for this team in terms of ESPN’s Power Rankings. Oakland remains one of the worst teams in the league with a ranking of No. 31 out of 32 via ESPN:

No. 32 – Jacksonville Jaguars (0-1)

No. 31 – Oakland Raiders (0-1) 

No. 30 – Cleveland Browns (0-1)

No. 29 – Buffalo Bills (0-1)

No. 28 – Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-1) 

With the Raiders showing signs of promise in Week 1, the consensus seemed to be that this team would at least move up a spot or two in the rankings. Unfortunately, the team stayed put at 31 and will attempt to gain ground with a win over the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 2.

Here’s the rankings for the rest of the AFC West via ESPN:

No. 3 – Denver Broncos (1-0)

No. 20 – Kansas City Chiefs (1-0)

No. 24 – San Diego Chargers (0-1)

The Broncos burst onto the scene in the season opener against the defending Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens meriting the high ranking. Peyton Manning had an unbelievable performance throwing for 462 yards and seven touchdowns leading the Broncos to their first win of the season.

As for the Chiefs and Chargers, Kansas City dropped a spot while San Diego dropped two. Alex Smith and company made easy work of the lowly Jaguars, but didn’t blow anyone away. The Chargers, on the other hand, had an opportunity to gain considerable ground by upsetting the Houston Texans, but fell apart in the second half on Monday night giving up 24 straight points to Matt Schaub and company.