26. Las Vegas Raiders
It only took 6 games for Geno Smith to throw 10 interceptions this season, putting him on pace to blow away the 15 interceptions he threw last season. While Geno needs a couple of weeks in a row without throwing a pick, the Raiders got a much-needed win at home against the Titans in Week 6.
Michael Mayer stepped up nicely in the absence of superstar tight end Brock Bowers, who continues to deal with an injury, and Ashton Jeanty forced his way to 75 yards on a whopping 23 carries.
The Raiders were able to take advantage of just how sloppy and bad the Titans are, forcing three turnovers on the game overall and scoring seven points off the first, taking points off the board (in an end-of-half situation) on the second, and finishing the game with the third.
That’s got to be the formula for the Raiders going forward: Forcing turnovers. This Raiders team is a bit of a hodge-podge of failed former top picks and projects of the coaching staff, but sometimes, those teams can be really tough matchups. At 2-4, there’s a lot of climbing to be done for this team in the AFC West, but this was a start.
25. New Orleans Saints
This feels like it might have been a “last straw” type of game for the New Orleans Saints. On Sunday morning, before all the action got going, NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport went on TV and said that the Saints actually approached running back Alvin Kamara and asked if he wanted to be in New Orleans or if he would rather they explored a trade.
Something is bubbling beneath the surface for this team, and we could see a mass exodus before the November 4 trade deadline.
For the time being, the Saints continue to show some fight under Kellen Moore. I think it’s safe to say that this team is getting graded on a bit of a curve each week based on the preseason expectations of this team, but the results have been pretty much what everyone expected in the win-loss column.