The Las Vegas Raiders were going to go one of two ways in the Week 3 game against the Carolina Panthers. Either they were going to build off an emotional, upset win over the Baltimore Ravens the week prior, or they were going to have a letdown game.
Unfortunately, it was the latter, as the Raiders got themselves steamrolled by Andy Dalton and the Carolina Panthers, 36-22, in what was the latest chapter of Dalton's dominance of the franchise.
To be quite honest, even though the Raiders lost by two touchdowns, the game wasn't even that close. Las Vegas was completely outclassed on both sides of the ball, and to make matters worse, head coach Antonio Pierce questioned his players' effort.
You're a brave soul if you're here, because you came into this article knowing things wouldn't be pretty. Here's where the Raiders land in the NFL Power Rankings of experts following their embarrassing Week 3 loss.
NFL Power Rankings Week 4: Las Vegas Raiders
Vinnie Iyer, Sporting News: 30 (-6)
Iyer: "Gardner Minshew blew a great chance to keep the starting job vs. the Panthers' porous defense, and now the Raiders might be forced into making the choice they should have made with Aidan O'Connell."
Sayre Bedinger, NFL Spin Zone: 28
Bedinger: "You really can’t discount what the Raiders were able to do last weekend against the Baltimore Ravens, but apparently it was lightning in a bottle as the Raiders came home in Week 3 to face off against the Carolina Panthers…and got whooped. The Raiders let Andy Dalton throw all over them on their home field, and many of the issues we had anticipated for the Raiders this season reared their ugly heads in this loss to the Panthers. The Raiders simply don’t seem to have the personnel in the defensive backfield to sustain even with a star pass rusher like Maxx Crosby coming off the edge. Offensively, Gardner Minshew seems to be able to be effective when the Raiders’ defense can allow him to be opportunistic, but playing in a come-from-behind situation against the Panthers and Ejiro Evero’s defense was a pretty telling overall performance."
Taylor Wirth, NBC Sports Bay Area: 27 (-1)
Wirth: "Dalton is a big upgrade over Bryce Young, but it's still the Panthers. Really? Only the Raiders would get embarrassed by Carolina after an impressive win over the Ravens last week."
Peter Dewey, Sports Illustrated: 26 (-3)
Dewey: "The Raiders were blown out by the previously 0-2 Panthers, giving up 36 points in Week 3. After a huge win over the Ravens, the Raiders look like anything but contenders ahead of Week 4."
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