NFL Power Rankings, Week 16: Steelers back to life, Cowboys stumble

NFL Power Rankings, Week 16: Steelers come back to life, Cowboys stumble

By Randy Gurzi | Dec 17, 2018

PITTSBURGH, PA - DECEMBER 16: Members of the Pittsburgh Steelers defense reacts after an interception by Joe Haden #23 in the fourth quarter during the game against the New England Patriots at Heinz Field on December 16, 2018 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images) /

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CINCINNATI, OH – DECEMBER 16: Dre Kirkpatrick #27 of the Cincinnati Bengals tackles Jordy Nelson #82 of the Oakland Raiders during the fourth quarter at Paul Brown Stadium on December 16, 2018 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Oakland defeated Cincinnati 30-16. (Photo by John Grieshop/Getty Images) /

32. Oakland Raiders (29)

In line again for the No. 1 pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, the Oakland Raiders are flat-out bad on the field — which we saw in their loss to the Cincinnati Bengals this weekend. That was worse than a regular loss to a struggling team as the Bengals were without quarterback Andy Dalton and wide receiver A.J. Green and still lost by two touchdowns.

As bad as that looks on the field, they look even worse off it. Oakland has made some moves this season to ship off Amari Cooper and Khalil Mack. While they did get first round picks, each team looks to be playoff bound meaning the picks won’t be as good as once thought. At least owner Mark Davis knows they can get a premium pick for their own failures.

After joking about how high they will be picking themselves, Davis then went on to put all the blame on recently-fired general manager Reggie McKenzie, saying the highly criticized trades were all on Reggie.

"“It was all Reggie doing those deals,” he said according to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network. “He seemed really happy about it.”"

That’s what makes them look even worse. They made some trades trying to improve down the road, but rather than own them, the Raiders are passing the blame. Now if it works out and they build a super-team with all their picks, will they also credit McKenzie? Likely not, that’s when Davis and head coach Jon Gruden might change their tune and say they were somewhat involved in the moves.

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