Tom Brady believes the undefeated Las Vegas Raiders are among the NFL’s five best teams heading into Week 4, as he made clear in his latest power rankings for Fox Sports.
Brady, a minority owner of the franchise, insisted his stake in the Raiders didn’t influence the selection. That said, he moved Las Vegas from No. 9 to No. 5 after its 3-0 start. Only the San Francisco 49ers, Kansas City Chiefs, Buffalo Bills and Minnesota Vikings ranked higher.
“At number five, no hometown bias here, the Las Vegas Raiders,” Brady said. “Listen, undefeated gets you in the top five. That’s just the way my power rankings work. You can only beat who you play, and when you’re undefeated, you’re better than the teams that have lost games. That’s just the way it works for me.”
Las Vegas has opened the season with three consecutive victories, including upset wins over the Los Angeles Chargers and New Orleans Saints in the last two weeks.
The Raiders forced four turnovers against New Orleans, and Brady highlighted their fourth-quarter defense as a reason for the rise.
“The Raiders had four takeaways (against the Saints),” Brady said. “How about their fourth-quarter performance on defense? Taking the ball away, knocking it off, interceptions, fumble returns — they did it all. That’s how you secure a win on the road in the NFL.”
Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images
Brady also pointed beyond the Raiders’ record and defensive production, praising the environment developing in Las Vegas.
“I think (the culture) is always about your teammates,” Brady said. “I think it’s always about ‘We’ over ‘Me.’ And I think if you go out there and you play for your teammates every single game, you try not to let your teammates down.
“I love the culture that’s being built in Las Vegas right now.”
The Raiders will face their toughest test to date when they go against Brady’s No. 2 team, the 3-0 Chiefs, on Sunday at 4:25 p.m. ET.
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