Here's a look at the first half of the season for the Oakland Raiders (7-2) and a preview of what to expect in the second half:

Grade: A - Sure, improvement was expected for a team that had jumped from three wins in 2014 to seven in 2015, coach Jack Del Rio's first season in Oakland. But to be sitting one game off the AFC's best record after eight games this season? That is massive progress and reason for excitement going forward, even if the Raiders have been winning games they would have easily dropped a few years back. In fact, Raiders teams of fairly recent vintage would be 1-7 at this stage. But as Del Rio preached, last season's team learned how to compete, while this season's is learning how to win. And then some.

Midseason MVP: Derek Carr is not only the Raiders' midseason MVP, he is also picking up steam as a potential NFL MVP candidate. And for good reason. The game has gotten, well, "easier" for Carr in this, his third NFL season, though not in a cocky way. Rather, he is seeing things develop in front of him and processing it all in a manner reminiscent of the movie "The Matrix," where everything is going on at full speed around him and he is in a slower-motion cocoon. Or did you miss his 513-yard, four-touchdown, no-interception game in Week 8 at Tampa Bay?

Best moment: Kickoff weekend seems so long ago, but what went down in the opener at the Superdome set the tone for Oakland this season. The Raiders attempting a two-point conversion while trailing by one with 52 seconds to play against the New Orleans Saints was the gutsy part. Successfully converting said two-pointer on a fade pass from Carr to Michael Crabtree in the left corner of the end zone to take a 35-34 lead was the feel-good part. Of course, Saints kicker Wil Lutz missing a 61-yard field-goal attempt as time expired sealed it and sent the Raiders on their way.

Worst moment: Let's go with the second time the Raiders had 12 men on the field on defense on a third-and-1 situation at the Buccaneers in the fourth quarter. And yes, both fouls came on the same drive. If the lack of focus and cohesion were not startling enough, the brain cramps were merely a part of a bigger, out-of-focus picture as the Raiders were flagged an NFL-record 23 times for a franchise-record 200 yards in Tampa: 13 times on offense, six times on defense and four times on special teams. And four other flags were picked up either due to the penalties offsetting or the Buccaneers declining them. And still Oakland won in overtime. It has been that kind of a first half of the season for the Raiders.

Player to watch: Khalil Mack has been something of a slow starter when it comes to racking up sacks, getting only four combined sacks in the first eight games of each of his first two seasons. And even this season, he had only one sack through Week 5. But as Bruce Irvin noted, Mack has been disrupting games, if not stat sheets, and the second half of a season is when Mack gets rolling. True enough, all four of his sacks as a rookie came after Game 10, and 10 sacks came last season in Games 11-14. Go ahead, cue up Mark Morrison's "Return of the Mack."

Second-half outlook: The Raiders defense was the worst-ranked unit in the league in Weeks 1-7 before "improving" to 31st in the league, and the schedule-makers did Oakland no favors with three of its first four games on the road. The Raiders also have three of their final four games on the road, and all at AFC West opponents in December. Help might be coming for the defense in November, however, as defensive end Mario Edwards Jr. could be activated off injured reserve after the bye and outside linebacker Aldon Smith has applied to the NFL for reinstatement after his yearlong suspension ends Nov. 17.