2017 NFL Power Rankings Week 8: Rams climb after shutting out Cardinals in London

23. Oakland Raiders (29)

Entering Week 7, the Oakland Raiders were already in desperation mode after losing each of their previous four games, which is awful for a team that many considered one of the favorites to win the Super Bowl at the beginning of the season. For some reason, this offense just couldn’t figure out a way to get clicking over the last few weeks, and even though Thursday’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs came right down to the wire, this could be the win that turns this season around for the Raiders.

After the numerous penalties to extend the game, Oakland came through on the final play when Derek Carr found Michael Crabtree for the two-yard touchdown to give the team a thrilling 31-30 win over Kansas City. Moving forward, it will be interesting to see if the Raiders continue playing at this high level, because if that is in fact going to be the case, this team may actually be capable of getting back into the AFC playoff hunt.

Then again, if that is going to have any chance of happening, Amari Cooper (11 catches for 210 yards with two scores) will need to continue playing for Oakland like he did in Week 7 against Kansas City. For a struggling player who only caught 18 passes over the first six games for the Raiders, it was a relief to see Cooper finally step it up on offense since that’s the dominant level he should be playing at on a weekly basis.