At this time last year, the expectations were incredibly high for the Raiders. Coming off a playoff berth, many believed the Raiders would be right back in the playoffs again and could challenge the Chiefs for the No. 1 spot in the AFC West.
But going into the 2023 season, the expectations couldn’t be lower. In fact, there are some NFL decision-makers who believe the Raiders could be the worst team in the AFC this season.
Buy Raiders TicketsIn a recent article by The Athletic, they polled six NFL executives and asked them to rank all 16 AFC teams heading into the season. The Raiders came in very low, ranking at No. 14, just ahead of the Texans and Colts. Here is a snippet of what the site had to say about Las Vegas going into the year:
The Raiders were eighth in this poll one year ago. They finished 13th in the AFC. They are projected 14th this year after losing ground to seven teams projected lower than Las Vegas entering 2022: Tennessee, Miami, New England, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Jacksonville and the Jets.
One NFL executive ranked the Raiders at No. 16 in the AFC, while another ranked them at No. 15. The common belief among the executives is that the Raiders have one of the worst head coach/quarterback combos in the conference.
It’s clear that no one expects much from the Raiders this season, which makes them a real underdog. Will this be the year where they shock everyone and become a contender once again? Or are the NFL executives right to rank the Raiders this low? With Week 1 just a few days away, we are about to find out.
