Oakland Raiders: 5 Predictions For The 2015 Season

Nov 20, 2014; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders running back Latavius Murray (28) celebrates with fans after scoring on an 11-yard touchdown run in the first quarter against the Kansas City Chiefs at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Raiders Will Contend In AFC West

Of all of the AFC West teams, Oakland improved themselves the most. By far. Up and down the roster, the Raiders added talented players who will be starters, and others who will be added depth to a team that’s needed it. The other teams, Denver, Kansas City, and San Diego, seemed like they were simply trying to plug a few holes on their roster – rosters that are aging rapidly.

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Until you can knock them off, the Broncos are still the undisputed kings of the division. But the fact of the matter is that Peyton Manning really began looking his age last season, and needless to say, it wasn’t a good look. Though they’ve tried to build a running game around him to ease some of the offensive burden on him, Denver will still need to rely on Manning’s arm to get them back to the postseason – and given what we saw last season, there is no guarantee he can do that anymore.

With the Chargers, Philip Rivers is a year older, and is coming off of a major back injury. He opted to not go for the surgery to correct it, so there is no real way of knowing how it will hold up over the course of a season. He says that he is physically fine, but what else would you expect him to say? The Chargers have also not historically started seasons well. They’ve relied on late season surges to carry them into the playoffs, but with a roster that’s aging, questions on the offensive line, as well as some question marks on the defensive side of the ball, San Diego may not have enough gas left in the tank to make their annual late season run to the playoffs.

And Kansas City – the Chiefs took some major steps backwards this offseason. Yes, they added Jeremy Maclin, a fantastic receiver, but given the fact that Alex Smith is still their quarterback, there is no guarantee that Maclin is going to have the same impact in KC that he did in Philadelphia. The Chiefs didn’t have a receiver put the ball in the endzone in 2014. Not one. It’s a remarkable statistic, and one that does not bode well for Maclin. Smith is the ultimate check down, short yardage quarterback. He’s not one who looks to air it out very often – which is where one of Maclin’s strengths lie. In addition, the Chiefs had a number of defections, the largest one obviously, the departure of center Rodney Hudson who left town to join the Raiders. Hudson’s departure is a huge, gaping hole on their line, and one they have yet to fill. It’s a personnel loss that is going to have a big impact on their offense this season, and not in a good way.

Of the AFC West teams, Oakland got a lot better, and the other teams perhaps got a little bit better. Oakland played some tough, competitive games against San Diego and Kansas City in 2014 – winning one against the Chiefs that all but put a dagger in their playoff hopes – and given the fact that the Raiders improved themselves quite a lot, while the Chargers and Chiefs did not, Oakland could very well beat them in 2015.

Denver is still the most dangerous team in the AFC West right now. Their roster is still pretty well loaded, despite some of the question marks hovering over the club. But the competitive gap between Oakland and Denver is narrowing significantly.

Expect the Raiders to contend for the AFC West crown in 2015.

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