2017 NFL Power Rankings Week 2: Rams make major jump after crushing Colts

7. Oakland Raiders (8)

During the months leading up to Sunday, Oakland Raiders fans were anxious to see how Derek Carr would look in his first game under center in the regular season since suffering a devastating leg injury towards the end of last season. Luckily, the Raiders quarterback provided his team with a ton of confidence about how there’s no reason for concern after Carr looked like his usual self with a strong performance against the Tennessee Titans.

While Carr (22 of 32 for 262 yards with two touchdowns) did his part on offense to help Oakland pickup the 26-16 victory, the defense deserves just as much credit for keeping Marcus Mariota in check for a majority of the game. Playing in the AFC West isn’t going to be an easy task when seeing how the rest of the division is looking, and if the Raiders’ defense can play like they did against the Titans on a consistent basis, it will only help this team increase those Super Bowl odds.

Keep in mind that Oakland was considered one of the early favorites to make a run at the Super Bowl in the AFC, and after watching the New England Patriots display an epic collapse against the Kansas City Chiefs, Jack Del Rio has to like his team’s chances even more. Even if they appear to still have a long way to go, the important factor is Carr’s performance was a major step in the right direction in Week 1 to show there’s no reason for concern over the Raiders quarterback.