14. Las Vegas Raiders
Last week: 16th
The Las Vegas Raiders have been one of the most impressive teams so far in the 2026 season.
Klint Kubiak has to be considered a front-runner for NFL Coach of the Year, and Kirk Cousins is playing some outstanding football for this Raiders team after a strong finish with the Falcons last season.
Maybe most surprisingly, the Raiders’ defense keeps coming up with big plays. That was a patchwork unit on paper going into the 2026 season, and they weren’t even supposed to have Maxx Crosby after initially trading him to the Baltimore Ravens. Now, maybe both the Raiders and Crosby are glad that trade didn’t go through.
Crosby and the Raiders’ defense came up with some huge plays down the stretch for the Raiders, who are now tied with the Kansas City Chiefs atop the AFC West at 3-0 this season.
This week also marked the return of tight end Brock Bowers, who played his first game of the 2026 season. And he was sensational. The Raiders got him involved early and often in their Week 3 win over the Saints, targeting him 13 times. He cashed in with 10 catches for 116 yards and a touchdown.
Are the Raiders good? Right now, they absolutely are.
13. Seattle Seahawks
Last week: 13th
The first full game Sam Darnold plays this season after helping the Seahawks win the Super Bowl last year, and he throws four touchdown passes in a loss…
Rough.
The Seahawks were playing some really good football through the first two weeks of the season, overcoming the loss of Darnold early on in that season-opener against the New England Patriots. Drew Lock had the offense humming last week against the Arizona Cardinals, and with Darnold returning, surely they would go into Washington and beat a struggling team with its backup quarterback, right?
Wrong. And don’t call me Shirley.
The Seahawks’ offense made a few too many mistakes on the road against the Commanders, and the Commanders pretty much played the perfect game.
It still took every second of the 60 minutes for Washington to get the win.
Seattle needs to figure out a way to get Jadarian Price to hold onto the football. His emergence this season is mission-critical, and ball security is a prerequisite. The fact that he struggled with that at Notre Dame is a little concerning.
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