Tennessee Titans and the Oakland Raiders are missing playoffs
Tyler Krenzin
Lantern Columnist
This is the take that I have been given the most grief over the last few weeks, so I’m bringing it here. Let’s be honest, the AFC West might be the best division in football. Sorry NFC East, Washington looked absolutely terrible, and the Giants’ offense looked ineffective versus a bottom five defense in the Cowboys. If the AFC West is as good and competitive as they looked throughout the offseason and week 1, then we are in for the closest division in football. My problem with Oakland isn’t because of the offense, which might be one of the best in football, it’s because that defense looked awful last season and they made no strong additions over the offseason. It may be a common misconception that Oakland’s defense is good because they have one of the best players in football with Khalil Mack. However, there is no one that comes even close to the talent level of him.
The only team that might have a worse secondary than Oakland is Tennessee. They had one of the worse secondaries last season and with no additions that spark interest Tennessee falls further and further behind. They made additions on offense, like Oakland, to make it look like they’re trying to be contenders. However, their division has two teams with some of the best defensives in football (Huston and Jacksonville), and we all know that a flashy offense can get you into a game, but defense will win it.
Betting these teams to miss the playoffs is far from a sure thing. Trust me, there is the opportunity that their top 10 offense’s will just outscore the rest if the competition. But if I were a betting man, and I am, I would be looking at the chance that they don’t.
