Grading the AFC West at the quarter mark of the 2024 NFL season

Las Vegas Raiders: C-

Record: 2-3

The Raiders are the worst team in the division right now, which is something I did not anticipate saying just five games into the season.

I thought the Chargers would need more time under Harbaugh and the Broncos rebuilding would give Las Vegas a cushion, but I was wrong. Both of these teams defeated the Raiders in the season's first quarter.

Still, I could not give a team that is just a game below .500 a "D" level grade.

Las Vegas' biggest problem is their inconsistency.

One quarter they'll be unstoppable on the offensive side of the ball, and the next they'll fail to get a first down. One quarter, the defense is impenetrable, and the next, it is porous.

The offense, overall, has been very bad. They've had their moments and their share of big plays, but "bad" is really the only term that makes sense when describing this unit.

Gardner Minshew earned himself a spot on the bench for his performance through five games, as his back-breaking turnovers shot the Raiders chances of winning in two of their three losses.

Aidan O'Connell will replace him in Week 6 and look to give the offense a jolt like he did a season ago. The team has plenty of weapons; Luke Getsy needs to figure out how to use them.

Despite what the numbers say, the defense has been good overall.

They've underperformed compared to expectations but they've gotten no help from the offense. Turnovers and bad field position have plagued this unit and the statistics are damning, but Patrick Graham is still the right coach for this crop of players.

The defense needs to miss fewer tackles and make more big plays, but they've bent and not broken at many points this season. Causing more turnovers and adding a few to the sack column would not hurt, but with the amount of injuries they've sustained as a group, it's a miracle things are not worse.

I don't think the Raiders will make the playoffs this year. More likely is that they'll end up around 6-7 wins and be in the top 10 of the NFL Draft, hopefully picking their QB of the future.

But if the Aidan O'Connell experiment fails, and Davante Adams is shipped off and the major injuries at key positions do not heal, things could get way worse in a hurry.

The Raiders are just as likely to have a top-5 pick as they are to make the playoffs.

Let's still hope for the latter.