Las Vegas Raiders

Oakland Raiders Climb in ESPN's Power Rankings

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

foxsports

Week 4 edition of where the Oakland Raiders land on ESPN’s Power Rankings.

Three weeks of the 2016 NFL season are now in the books, and ESPN has released the latest edition of their weekly power rankings ahead of Week 4.

To recap, the Raiders began the season ranked 11th, and then moved up one spot to 10th following a win in the opener over the New Orleans Saints. After losing to the Falcons in Week 2, they fell to 16th.

So after a victory in Week 3 to bring the team to 2-1 on the season, where does ESPN have the Raiders ranked?

Answer: Up three spots, to 13th.

Here is what ESPN had to say about Oakland’s ranking:

In Week 3, the Raiders’ defense held the Titans to 10 points after allowing 69 points in Weeks 1-2 combined. A win and another impressive defensive performance against the 3-0 Ravens on Sunday could legitimize the Raiders as contenders.

Well said. Big defensive improvement, at least in terms of points allowed. And beating a 3-0 team would definitely validate Oakland, maybe not as “contenders” necessarily, but certainly as a team to take seriously.

The reason I stop short on the “contenders if they beat Baltimore” notion is because the Ravens haven’t played anyone notable — their opponents are a combined 1-8.

The Ravens are ranked 10th by ESPN.

For the Raiders, there are five 2-1 teams ranked ahead of them in the power rankings, and there are four 2-1 teams ranked behind them. So ESPN consider Oakland to be a middle of the pack 2-1 team.

There are also three 1-2 teams ranked ahead of the Raiders — the Cardinals (5th), Panthers (8th) and the Bengals (13th).

Oakland’s AFC foes are ranked as follows: