The Oakland Raiders spent all of last season at 28th or below in the ESPN NFL Power Rankings.

This week they come in at No. 9 in the rankings behind a top-10 offense.

It’s the first time the Raiders have been inside the top 10 in the eyes of ESPN’s Power Panel since Week 7 of the 2011 season. That was the week of their first game with Carson Palmer at quarterback.

Palmer led the Raiders to an offensive efficiency ranking of 18th in the NFL from Week 7 through the end of the 2011 season. Derek Carr has led this 2015 Raiders team to a top-10 ranking in offensive efficiency per game (seventh), offensive points scored per game (fourth), yards per game (ninth), yards per play (seventh) and Total QBR (10th).

Carr’s progression

Quarterback Derek Carr has a 15-3 touchdown-to-interception ratio this season, which trails only Tom Brady (20-1) and Aaron Rodgers (15-2) entering Week 9.

Carr’s biggest improvement in his second NFL season has been handling the blitz.

The second-year quarterback is averaging 8.4 yards per dropback (second in the NFL) with a 77 Total QBR (eighth) when facing five or more pass-rushers this season. Last year Carr averaged 3.9 yards per dropback with a 23 Total QBR against the blitz. Those ranked 31st and 28th among qualified quarterbacks in 2014.

The Raiders' offseason upgrades at wide receiver have played a big part in Carr's success.

Earning the yards

More than 56 percent of the Raiders’ receiving yards this year have come after the catch, the third-highest percentage in the NFL behind the Kansas City Chiefs and San Diego Chargers. The Raiders rank fourth in yards after catch per reception (6.3) and first in yards after contact per reception (2.4).

Rookie wide receiver Amari Cooper’s 8.2 yards after catch per reception ranks fourth among wide receivers this season, and Cooper has not shied away from contact early in his NFL career.

He is averaging 2.4 yards after contact per reception, which ranks fifth out of 78 qualified wideouts. Cooper has four receptions this season where he picked up at least 10 yards after contact, tied with Rob Gronkowski for most in the NFL among wide receivers and tight ends.

One of the best examples of Cooper’s elite after-the-catch and after-contact skills came on a second-and-15 play in the second quarter of the Raiders’ Week 3 game against the Cleveland Browns. Carr dropped back and threw from a clean pocket to Cooper 15 yards downfield over the middle. Cooper tossed Tashaun Gipson aside with a stiff-arm right after he caught the ball and later carried Donte Whitner another 5 yards before finally going down.

It was a 15-yard throw by Carr that resulted in a 40-yard gain thanks to 25 yards after the catch and 22 yards after contact on the part of Cooper.

And while Cooper is playing like a very good No. 4 overall pick, Michael Crabtree is looking like a great offseason signing.

Crabtree leads the team in targets, receptions, receiving touchdowns and receiving first downs. He ranks sixth among wide receivers in targets per route run at 30 percent.

Crabtree’s one-year deal has a 2015 cap hit of $3.2 million, which ranks 42nd among wide receivers, according to Roster Management System.

Consistency on the offensive line

Through Week 8 the Raiders have played 433 offensive snaps. The offensive line combination of Donald Penn, Gabe Jackson, Rodney Hudson, J'Marcus Webb and Austin Howard has been on the field together for 431 of those snaps (99.5 percent).

That line ranks eighth in the NFL in pass protection percentage (51 percent), the percentage of plays the offense controls the line of scrimmage on dropbacks. Carr has been under pressure on 18 percent of his dropbacks this season, the second-lowest rate in the NFL.

And running back Latavius Murray, who ranks ninth in the NFL with 534 rushing yards, ranks 13th in yards before contact, getting 2.8 yards per rush before being contacted by a defender on average.