SB Nation released their week 10 NFL power rankings and the Raiders were one of the big gainers this week. Naturally the Browns got the biggest gain with their win over the Patriots, but the Raiders found themselves climbing four spots from No. 16 to No. 12.
The Raiders climbed this high thanks to their own big win over the Chiefs and some key losses ahead of them. They passed the Chiefs, Dolphins, Texans, and Buccaneers on their continued surprise return to prominence. I’m not surprised they surpassed Miami and Houston due to those two teams losing. I’m a little surprised they passed the Bucs given the Bucs close loss. However, I’m rather stunned the Chiefs dropped behind them in part because the guy who writes the rankings runs this site. Of course, maybe being a Chiefs fan makes him even more critical of his own team.
The Raiders enter week 10 with a bye. Their best bet to gain ground would be with some key losses ahead of them. I wouldn’t expect the Raiders to gain or lose much ground barring some bizarre compilation of events.
On the other side of the Bay, the San Francisco 49ers sit steady at No. 28 thanks to their bye week. Arizona and Detroit could have dropped below them but they had a little bit of a cushion for their respective falls, and both lost really close games. I think it’s safe to keep them ahead of the 49ers for now. The 49ers face St. Louis at Candlestick this weekend and I’d imagine a victory could do wonders for their power ranking.