26. Las Vegas Raiders
Last week: 26th
I feel terrible about this, but the Las Vegas Raiders are staying put for this week's rankings. I was trying to find ways to rearrange things to bump them up at least a spot, but instead of moving up the rankings after beating the Dolphins, Raiders fans are just going to have to settle -- this week, at least -- for me saying nice things about their team.
We saw Klint Kubiak do an incredible job last year with the Seattle Seahawks en route to a Super Bowl win, and he proved very quickly why he was the Raiders' most coveted target this offseason as the team's next head coach.
Ashton Jeanty was not only active, but dominant against the Miami Dolphins after his training camp injury scare. He led the Raiders in both rushing and receiving with 147 yards from scrimmage and a pair of receiving touchdowns.
Even without Brock Bowers, and even with a pair of interceptions from Kirk Cousins, the Raiders were able to score 27 points. It has to feel good for this fan base to see the big game from Jeanty, Jack Bech getting in the end zone, and the defense racking up 11 QB hits on Malik Willis.
25. Arizona Cardinals
Last week: 31st
The Arizona Cardinals pulled off one of the biggest upsets of Week 1. I would call their upset over the Chargers the biggest upset of the week, but that might not even have been the craziest upset within the division. The 49ers' win over the Rams was that impressive.
But we're not talking about that game (yet). This is the Arizona Cardinals' moment.
The Cardinals were the more efficient operation from the very beginning of the game. The defensive front got to Justin Herbert in this game, and the gameplan from defensive coordinator Nick Rallis really had Justin Herbert confused out there. Arizona's defense held the Chargers to just 3-of-8 on 3rd downs and 0-for-3 on 4th down plays.
Considering the final score of 26-14 in favor of Arizona, it's pretty wild to think about the fact that they were just 2-of-5 in red zone trips and had a missed field goal in the game. It was a complete team win for Arizona, and a moment that had to feel incredible for rookie head coach Mike LaFle
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