The Oakland Raiders have officially finished their 2019 season, just missing the playoffs in the AFC. They won three more games than they did in the previous season, but were much closer to being a double-digit win team than anyone imagined.
In the final regular-season power ranking list by Pat Yasinskas of the Touchdown Wire, the Raiders come in at No. 1, smack-dab in the middle of the league. Take a look at Yasinskas’ thoughts on the Raiders in 2019 and going forward:
The Raiders entered the day needing a win against Denver and some help to make the playoffs. Neither happened, and their season is over. More significantly, so is their time as the Oakland Raiders. They’ll be the Las Vegas Raiders next season, and the future looks bright. In the second season of his second stint with the franchise, head coach Jon Gruden has his team headed in the right direction. He’s got a quarterback he likes in Derek Carr and a strong running back in Josh Jacobs. With those two in place, the Raiders are a team on the rise. They could be a serious playoff contender in their first year in Las Vegas.
While the Raiders did make a step forward this season, they will need to make an even bigger jump in 2020 in order to be a serious playoff contender. But with cap space, two first-round picks, and a young roster, that does feel plausible. Heading into the offseason, it appears that Mike Mayock and Jon Gruden have the Raiders trending in the right direction.
