Raiders take tumble in week 4 power rankings after big loss in Washington

The hype train was full steam ahead last week for the Raiders. They were 2-0 with big wins over the Titans and big scoring over the Jets. Then that train hit a brick wall in Washington.

Power rankings can be fickle. They can often be a ‘prisoner of the moment’ type situation. But as the weeks go on, the cream rises to the top and everyone else settles in.

Rather than look at just one power ranking, this week we’ll look around to various ones.

What we see essentially is the Raiders went from top five, and as high as the second behind division rival Kansas City, to just inside the top ten.

Here are a few rankings (last week’s ranking in parenthesis):

NFL.com - 8 (2)

The Raiders created much drama Sunday night ... Would they eclipse 100 yards? They did, with approximately one minute left in the fourth quarter, trying to scratch out a drive from somewhere near their own end zone. The offensive line was overwhelmed at the point of attack. Amari Cooper caught one pass for 6 yards. Not to be outdone, Michael Crabtree caught one for 7. The run game walked. The defense made up for it by not tackling. OK, we're done here.

CBS - 9 (6)

That wasn't a good look at Washington Sunday night. They got ambushed and now play a big division game at Denver.

ESPN - 7 (5)

Derek Carr: 43.9 Total QBR. Carr hasn't completed a pass thrown more than 20 yards downfield this season. The short-passing attack worked over the first few weeks, but Carr didn't come through when it got shut down in Week 3. With the Broncos and Ravens coming up, Carr will need to show he can go vertical again.

Yahoo! - 6 (5)

Some nights you just don’t have it. You fly from the West Coast all the way to the East Coast, play a fired-up team in a prime time and just get swamped from the first snap on. I don’t think the Raiders’ loss at Washington indicates they’re a bad team. The Raiders will be fine.

SB Nation - 11 (3)

Average rank: 8.2 (4.2)

What most of this seems to suggest is that this game is not a sign of things to come. There is too much proof the Raiders are a good team to let one game change that opinion.