Las Vegas Raiders, Carolina Panthers NFL Power Rankings

Experts have the Las Vegas Raiders ranked as high as 20th while the Carolina Panthers are near the bottom of the NFL power rankings.

Power rankings are always an easy way to stir up debate leading up to the start of the season. Fans can go on endlessly about why their team isn’t ranked where they should be.

Coincidentally, the Raiders are a team that it could be argued has been underrated by experts around the league heading into the season. Looking at rankings from sites such as ESPN, CBS Sports, NFL.com, and others, the Raiders are usually placed in the low 20s.

Considering the amount of talent the Raiders added this offseason, it wouldn’t seem like that far of a stretch for fans to think they’re being slighted. For the Carolina Panthers average ranking, though, there is very little optimism.

On the same sites, the Panthers usually range from Nos. 31 to 29. The biggest reason for such a low ranking usually comes from having a defense going through a youth movement after the departure of many of Carolina’s veterans over the last several years.

Not to mention having a new head coach and a new quarterback. The Panthers are very much a team in transition, going from longtime franchise stalwarts like MVP Cam Newton and Coach Ron Rivera to this new group led by new Coach Matt Rhule and quarterback Teddy Bridgewater.

Considering all of that change, it isn’t shocking that the majority of experts are hedging their bets on Carolina being very competitive at all.

It’s led to the Raiders being a 3.5-point favorite for the game on Sunday. It doesn’t mean they should expect a cakewalk though. This is the NFL, after all, and stranger upsets have happened.

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