16. Las Vegas Raiders
Last week: 9th
Unfortunately, we’ve been wondering when the clock would strike midnight on the Raiders this season.
Not to take away anything from this team’s 3-0 start, but the way they played against the New England Patriots on Sunday – albeit, a tough environment and matchup – was much more in line with what we expected to see this season.
But the Raiders are still 3-2 and in a position to bounce back. Although getting blown out by the Patriots is anything but fun, we did get to see the debut of Fernando Mendoza in some regular season action, and that was a lot of fun.
The Raiders were just completely overmatched on Sunday, and that happens. It’s always tough for West Coast teams to travel out to the other side of the country and play in the early window on Sundays.
The defense of the Raiders has lived and died this season on takeaways. They had one against the Patriots, but that wasn’t enough. They gave up over 500 yards of offense in an embarrassing effort.
15. Denver Broncos
Last week: 15th
Another week, and it’s pretty much the same story with this Denver Broncos team.
Offensively, this team is not passing the old eye test. The Broncos have nothing consistent to hang their hats on on that side of the ball, and that’s a problem.
Sean Payton took over play-calling duties after giving Davis Webb a four-game gauntlet to start the 2026 season. That controversial move led to a lot more running the football for the Broncos in their Week 5 win against the Chargers, but the same struggles from Bo Nix and the passing game.
Broncos fans know they have a championship-caliber defense, and a team that came within just one win of the Super Bowl last year. But do the Broncos have the type of offense that’s going to be able to go far in the postseason?
Right now, it’s not looking like it. They need Bo Nix to start playing with the confidence we’ve seen from him in the past. No matter what he says to the media, it’s clear that he’s not the same since the ankle injury in last year’s postseason.
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