Raiders Week 3 NFL Power Rankings round-up: Oakland’s lack of killer instinct drops them further in rankings

After the Raiders again lost the lead in the 4th quarter it has become clear that their lack of a killer instinct is the reason for their dropping for a 3rd week in a row in the power rankings.

NFL.com

30th

Jon Gruden looked disgusted postgame, lamenting penalties that cost the Raiders field position, as well as other assorted mistakes. Sounded like the coach felt his Raiders played just well enough to lose at the end of the game. Oakland marched right down the field on the opening drive, thanks to Jordy Nelson’s 61-yard catch-and-run and ensuing touchdown grab. (The guy produced a throwback day straight out of 2014.) The next Raider foray -- 95 yards in nine plays -- was an absolute beaut. Well, save for the last play, when fullback Keith Smith was stuffed on fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line. Ultimately, two Derek Carr interceptions were costly. Hey, at least the Raiders got a sack. Yay.

Last Week 28

Houston Chronicle

31st

The Raiders have blown three second-half leads. They play home at home against Cleveland and quarterback Baker Mayfield in his first start.

Last Week 29th

Yahoo!

30th

Oakland led the Rams in the third quarter of Week 1. They led in the fourth quarter of road games against the Broncos and Dolphins. They lost all three, of course. Are they wearing down because of the age of the roster? Was it just a couple of tough road assignments in Weeks 2 and 3? Coaching issues? Small sample size? Whatever the reason, it’s a bad trend. It’s at least promising the Raiders aren’t getting blown out.

Last Week 27th

NBC Sports

30th

Gruden’s crew is one of three winless squads. Wow. Didn’t see that coming. This team has no killer instinct.

Last Week 27

Sporting News

31st

Things looked good for Jon Gruden in Miami until, for a third straight week, he got outwitted when it counts in the second half.

Last Week 30

NJ.com

31st

The good: Oakland has led all three games they’ve played in the third quarter.

The bad: They’ve lost all three, and can’t rush the passer.

Last Week 29

USA Today

28th

They're on pace to force league-low five turnovers. Meanwhile, Khalil Mack on pace for league-best 16 forced fumbles plus five INTs. Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

Last Week 28

SB Nation

30th

Last Week 26

ESPN

31st

Surprisingly, the 0-3 Raiders have not taken an offensive snap when trailing in the first three quarters this season. However, they have been outscored 37-3 in the fourth quarter, by far the worst margin in the NFL and the worst for any team through the first three games of a season since the 2014 Jaguars (who finished that season 3-13). -- Koontz

Last Week 27

Bleacher Report

31st

The second Jon Gruden era in Oakland is off to quite the start.

It appeared for a time that the Raiders were going to notch win No. 1 Sunday in Miami. But just like the week before in Denver, Oakland couldn't hold a double-digit second-half lead—or score more than 20 points.

That's the 2018 Raiders in a nutshell. There's always a "but."

Derek Carr threw for 345 yards against the Dolphins...but he also threw a pair of interceptions.

Marshawn Lynch finally got a decent workload of 19 carries...but he could only parlay those touches into 64 rushing yards.

Oakland's pass rush was MIA again...but—OK, there is no but there. The Raiders have no pass rush right now, because it's hard to find good pass-rushers.

After three games, Oakland ranks well outside the top 20 in both points scored and points allowed.

It's going to be a long season in the Bay Area.

Last Week 30th

Washington Post

31st

It’s going to be a long, long season for Jon Gruden and the Raiders.

Last Week 29th

CBS Sports

30th

It's not a good start for Jon Gruden in his return to coaching. Nobody said it would be easy.

Last Week 26th

Average Ranking: 30.33

Last Week 28.08

The Oakland Raiders are consistently being ranked as a bottom 3 team in all of the NFL with only one outlet (USA Today-28th) still giving them a higher than 30th ranking. That makes perfect sense with them being one of only 3 teams to yet win a game in 2018.

They have a game against the Cleveland Browns coming up (1-1-1) with rookie Baker Mayfield starting his first game so they have an opportunity to get a much needed win. However, Mayfield looked good leading the Browns to their first victory in well over a year against the Jets last week so maybe it isn’t beneficial to the Raiders that he is starting against them in Week 4.

Even a win against the Browns might not elevate the Raiders that far, but a loss will likely lower them across the board to being the 32nd ranked team. The good news is it can’t get any worse in the power rankings after that, the bad news is because that would be the worst it could get in a 32 team league.