The Raiders have been a popular team among NFL pundits and Sunday’s season-opening 35-34 win over the New Orleans Saints won’t slow that down.

“I believe the Raiders are a playoff-caliber team,” former NFL running back Marshall Faulk said Tuesday on a conference call with fellow NFL Network analysts Steve Mariucci and LaDainian Tomlinson.

“What Jack Del Rio did in that game can galvanize this team,” Faulk said of Del Rio’s decision to go for a two-point conversion that earned the over the New Orleans Saints. “The culture in Oakland has changed. They expect to win games, not just hoping to win games. And we saw that against the Saints.”

Mariucci, a former coach with the 49ers and Detroit Lions, agreed.

“I went up to their training camp, and I do that each year, I could just tell that this team is becoming very, very confident,” Mariucci said. “Not hopeful, but confident, and the expectations are high.

“The sky is going to be the limit with Jack Del Rio over there. … Marshall mentioned their triplets with Derek Carr and Latavius Murray and Amari Cooper, and we have to keep in mind Michael Crabtree is a heck of a two. All of a sudden, here’s this Jalen Richard kid from Southern Miss, and he’s going to contribute a little bit too.”

Tomlinson hedged a little based on the Raiders youth, but still thinks they’ll be in the mix in the AFC West.

“I believe they will compete and be right there in the end to win that division,” Tomlinson said. “I don’t know if they’re ready in terms of experience. But one thing they’ve done over the last two or three years in the draft, in a couple of pieces of free agency, is really built this roster to be strong and competitive. So I think as you continue to win games like they did on Sunday, that builds a team morale, it builds the confidence of a team.”