The Oakland Raiders have gotten off to a good start once again this season with three wins in their first five games. Not only are the Raiders a much improved team on the offensive side of the football with running back Darren McFadden not missing a beat and quarterback Jason Campbell playing much better than anticipated under center, but the Raiders defense seems to be for real this season despite losing arguably their best player in cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha (Philadelphia Eagles).

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With the offense firing on all cylinders and the defense holding leads against potent offenses, the Oakland Raiders could be headed for their first playoff appearance since 2002 when they made it all the way to the Super Bowl. Now that the Raiders have become a force to be reckoned with in the AFC West division and the AFC Conference for that matter, this team seems to be on the rise in the NFL, but they did suffer a major loss last week when longtime owner and NFL innovator Al Davis died at the age of 82.

Terrelle Pryor

Regardless of how people may feel about Al Davis personally, the controversial owner played a big part in the NFL being what it is today and will be sorely missed. With the loss of Davis fresh in the players’ minds, the Raiders will almost certainly come out in Week 6 against the Cleveland Browns full of emotion and ready to give their fans in the Bay Area another win on the season.

As if the death of Al Davis wasn’t enough of a storyline heading into this showdown with Colt McCoy and company in Week 6, the Oakland Raiders will also get rookie quarterback Terrelle Pryor back from his five-game ban. There is no telling how head coach Hue Jackson expects to use him at this point, but the addition of an athlete like Terrelle Pryor is definitely a boost for an offense that has really come on strong this season.

At this point in time, the Raiders seem pretty content with quarterback Jason Campbell as the starter under center, but with Terrelle Pryor coming into the fold the quarterback controversy in the Bay Area might be brewing if the veteran gunslinger starts to struggle this week. Like many young quarterbacks in the league today like Cam Newton (Carolina Panthers) and Tim Tebow (Denver Broncos), Terrelle Pryor is a constant threat with his legs and could be very useful for the Raiders in the near future.

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As I said before, the Oakland Raiders are playing pretty well right now and Jason Campbell has been impressive thus far or at least better than expected (1,118 yards, 6 TDs and 4 INTs), but the pressure will be on the veteran to continue to play well or he could get pulled just like Kyle Orton did last week in favor of the younger and more mobile Tim Tebow.