Graney: Raiders could be AFC West patsies for a long time

Something that might knock your socks off (or not): The Raiders last won a division championship in 2002.

Maybe it doesn’t surprise you. Not with how bad the Raiders have been for 20 years.

How bad they continue to be.

Six games remain in this dreadful season. Six more opportunities to either win games and really mess up an opportunity at a high draft pick or continue to lose and put themselves in position to select their quarterback of the future.

I don’t have to tell you which is the best path for growth. And it’s not by winning.

The Raiders dropped an AFC West game to the Broncos 29-19 on Sunday at Allegiant Stadium. It more than brought this reality into focus: The Raiders are looking up at three divisional teams and it might be awhile before they’re close to any of them.

“I’m not in that locker room, but they have a heck of a team,” Raiders center Jackson Powers-Johnson said of the Broncos. “If they continue to do what they’re doing, they’ll have success.”

An improved Nix

Powers-Johnson played college ball at Oregon with Denver rookie quarterback Bo Nix, who had little trouble making the plays he needed to defeat the Raiders. Nix has improved dramatically during the season and has the Broncos in a playoff position.

Think about it: Quarterbacks in the AFC West are Patrick Mahomes of the Chiefs, Justin Herbert of the Chargers, Nix and whoever the Raiders might throw out there in a given week.

We know it won’t be Gardner Minshew again this season. He broke his left collarbone late in Sunday’s game and was replaced by Desmond Ridder. Second-year pro Aidan O’Connell is eligible to come off injured reserve this week after suffering a broken thumb in Week 7 against the Rams.

The Raiders play at Kansas City on a short week Friday. That should be something.

The difference in quarterbacks between the top three teams and the Raiders is startling. It more than shows the importance of drafting one in April. It more than defines how far behind the Raiders are at the game’s most important position.

The same might be said for head coach.

Andy Reid. Jim Harbaugh. Sean Payton. The Chiefs, Chargers and Broncos have proven winners roaming the sidelines. Payton might have looked as if he lost a bit of his fastball last season when maneuvering through the Russell Wilson experiment, but his work with Nix shows that isn’t the case.

The Raiders, meanwhile, are led by Antonio Pierce, who assumed the full-time position this season after serving in an interim role for nine games in 2023. Pierce has been one of the NFL’s most conservative coaches since taking over. He has struggled with game management decisions. Not his fault, but he isn’t in the same breath as those other three.

It’s a truth the Raiders must face.

Just not as good

They had beaten the Broncos eight straight times before losing both games this season. Denver won in Allegiant Stadium for the first time Sunday, when bright orange could be seen across thousands and thousands of seats.

It’s simple: The other three teams — all in a playoff position — are much better at those areas you must be good at to have any chance at success.

Might be this way for a long time. The Raiders aren’t just a quarterback away from competing for an AFC West title.

But, man, would that make things a whole lot better.

“Just keep showing up and working,” defensive end Maxx Crosby said. “Keep improving. We did some better things as a team this week. That’s all we can do.”

It wasn’t enough again. And it likely won’t be within the division for some time.

The Raiders continue to look up. It’s not a good thing in the life of NFL standings.

Ed Graney, a Sigma Delta Chi Award winner for sports column writing, can be reached at egraney@reviewjournal.com. He can be heard on “The Press Box,” ESPN Radio 100.9 FM and 1100 AM, from 7 to 10 a.m. Monday through Friday. Follow @edgraney on X.