The Las Vegas Raiders surprised some folks in Week 1 of the 2025 NFL season when they went on the road and beat the New England Patriots, who are now 5-2. A four-game losing streak ensued, however, with a 40-6 loss against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 5 being the low point.
After this brutal beatdown, the Raiders plummeted as low as No. 32 in some power rankings, meaning that many thought they were the worst team in the NFL. A fairly convincing, but not dominant, win against the hapless Tennessee Titans in Week 6 saw them make a minor jump back up the rankings.
Unfortunately, Las Vegas laid an egg this past Sunday. They traveled to take on the red-hot Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium, and they got blown out by a score of 31-0. This demoralizing loss was sure to drop them again in the power rankings, perhaps to the bottom.
Raiders drop one spot to No. 29 in latest NFL power rankings
However, NFL.com's Eric Edholm released his power rankings after Week 7, and the Raiders only dropped one spot, from No. 28 to No. 29. Of course, Edholm still had plenty of negative things to say about the team after a loss like that.
"You don’t just bury this game tape. You first burn it with fire, and then douse it with sulfuric acid. The Raiders ran 30 offensive plays and allowed 31 points. Defensively, they let the Chiefs do pretty much what they wanted, even if the score wasn’t outrageously bad. It could have been much worse," Edholm wrote. "Whatever good vibes still wafted around the team Sunday morning were blown away pretty quickly. There was only so much to hope for from the offense with Brock Bowers and Jakobi Meyers out -- and with Geno Smith mired in a season-long slump -- but the Raiders not leaning on Ashton Jeanty was so bizarre. He touched it only seven times -- and just once in the game’s first 20 minutes. I don’t get any of it. Oh, and Maxx Crosby and Adam Butler got hurt."
With Edholm putting things like that, it is hard to imagine that there are worse or more dysfunctional teams in the NFL than the Raiders in their current state. The team's bye in Week 8 could not be coming at a more opportune time, as they badly need to hit the reset button.
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Below them in the power rankings are, in order, the Miami Dolphins, the Tennessee Titans and the New York Jets. All three of these teams have worse records than Las Vegas, and perhaps their fortunes are worse as well.
Miami lost to the now 2-5 Cleveland Browns by a score of 31-6 on Sunday, and Tennessee also got clobbered by the Patriots. The Jets are still searching for their first win, as they are now 0-7 after a low-scoring loss to the Carolina Panthers in Week 7.
These losses make the Raiders' lopsided defeat against the Chiefs somehow feel not as bad. Even though Las Vegas is light years away from being a competitor, these three AFC teams still struggling more than they are is a slight glimmer of hope for the franchise.