Don’t count on national praise yet for Raiders’ next win. Here are past hard lessons

As the Las Vegas Raiders return to action next Sunday after a bye week, a lot of momentum is on their side.

A big win over the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs made that possible.

The win put the Raiders at 3-2 as they entered their week off, but franchise followers know they’ve been here before — twice in the past four seasons while sitting above .500 with perhaps the playoffs on their minds.

Like last season.

A year ago, the Raiders started 3-2 but lost the next two, only to then reel off three consecutive wins.

Praise started pouring in for coach Jon Gruden and his team.

Naturally when the national analysts start to weigh in, recent Raiders seasons somehow have wound up going south. Even Raider Nation probably wouldn’t mind if those experts instead just let the team continue to play quietly under the radar.

Colin Cowherd said on his show in November 2019, after the Raiders improved to 5-4, that “they are battling for a playoff spot — a wildcard spot.”

After the Raiders went to 6-4, Pro Football Talk said “for the Raiders, the playoffs are very much in sight. Jon Gruden has his team going places.”

NFL Network’s Pete Schrager said the Raiders’ 2019 rookie class may be the best in 10 years. While that may be true, the Raiders shutdown Josh Jacobs after the game against Jacksonsville and missed the next two games because of a shoulder injury.

Bleacher Report had a headline that read: “Jon Gruden and the 6-4 Raiders Have All the Haters Eating Crow.”

Playoff bound, right?

Not so fast.

The Raiders lost four consecutive games and their playoff hopes simply faded away to a 7-9 finish.

In 2017, the Raiders started off 2-0 before losing the next four games en route to a 6-10 season.

The win a week ago against the Chiefs is labeled by many as an upset, but the Raiders know it might not mean much by the time they face Kansas City at Allegiant Stadium in November — or (at risk of a jinx) perhaps tangle with the Chiefs in the postseason.

What is next for Raiders?

The schedule sets up nicely, but those upcoming games are not gimme wins by any stretch.

After facing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-2) and Cleveland Browns (4-2) on Oct. 25 and Nov. 1, respectively, the Raiders will visit the Los Angeles Chargers (1-4) and host the Denver Broncos (2-3).

The Raiders host Kansas City (4-1) before hitting the road to face the Atlanta Falcons (1-5) and New York Jets (0-6).

Remaining opponents also include the Indianapolis Colts (4-2), Chargers, Miami Dolphins (3-3) and the Broncos to wrap up the season.

Favorable, no doubt, but those teams also present a variety of challenges.

Here are some reasons why:

Any AFC West opponent is a difficult matchup.

▪ The Chargers (1-4) are no pushovers especially with quarterback Justin Herbert providing a spark in his rookie season. Their four losses have been by under seven points.

▪ Last season, Drew Lock helped the Broncos defeat the Raiders 16-15 in Denver. Denver this week defeated the New England Patriots 18-12 at Gillette Stadium.

▪ The Chiefs (4-1) will have revenge on their minds after losing to the Raiders at Arrowhead Stadium.

Beware the hot quarterback

▪ You cannot forget the Raiders going to MetLife Stadium last season and losing to the slumping Jets.

▪ The Falcons will present challenges any time Matt Ryan is in the game with Julio Jones as his go-to player.

▪ The Colts are playing well, with Philip Rivers leading the way. The Raiders are quite familiar with the ex-Charger star Rivers.

▪ Who knows who will be at quarterback when the Dolphins come to Allegiant Stadium in late December. The current guy, however, Ryan Fitzpatrick, has always played well against the Raiders.

So the Raiders, per the cliche, simply must look at it as one game at a time.

Their first five opponents are a combined 16-10 this season, pending the Monday’s showdown between the 4-1 Bills and Chiefs.

But for the Raiders to be taken seriously, they will have to prove they can continue to remain competitive against teams that are above .500 while avoiding a stumble against those below the break-even mark.