Expectations are pretty low for the Raiders going into the 2023 season. Most national experts believe the Raiders will finish last in the AFC West and could even contend for the No. 1 pick. But not everyone believes the Raiders will be that bad.
In a recent article by The Athletic, their analytics model projected all 32 teams’ win total for the 2023 season. The Raiders came in low, with a projection of 7.5 wins for the upcoming season. Here is a snippet of their thoughts on Las Vegas going into the year:
This all depends on whether you think the Raiders will survive their opening four-game stretch. They open at the Broncos, at the Bills, home against the Steelers and then at the Chargers. With Josh Jacobs, Davante Adams and Maxx Crosby, the Raiders have three of the top 40 players in the NFL.
The defensive line looks improved, and the Raiders brought in even more former Patriots. If Jimmy Garoppolo can work better in the red zone with Josh McDaniels than Derek Carr did — and that’s why they signed the oft-injured QB — the Raiders should be able to squeak over this number.
That number lines up with what most sportsbooks project for wins for the Raiders. The Raiders won just six games last year, but they had nine losses by one score. If they can just flip a few of those games in 2023, it’s not hard to see the Raiders getting to eight or nine wins.
The jury is still out on this team, but the expectations seem to be pretty low. Does that mean they’ll have a chance to surprise in 2023? We shall see.