Andy Reid saw the Oakland Raiders at their best in 2014.

Even though Reid’s Kansas City Chiefs easily dispatched Oakland in the two teams' final meeting of 2014, Reid is clearly moving forward in his thinking that the Raiders will be more like the team the Chiefs ran into on a rainy Oakland night in November. The Raiders played inspired, determined football, beating the Chiefs in front of a national Thursday night audience for their first win of the season after starting 0-10.

Speaking at the NFL owners meeting, Reid was asked about the competitiveness of the AFC West. He did not forget to praise the Raiders, who went 3-13 last year.

“Oakland, even though their record wasn’t as good as they wanted, they brought in some good, young players,” Reid said. “You can see this foundation starting to build there with the things Reggie [McKenzie] has done. He goes and hires Jack Del Rio, and I think that’s a pretty good situation. They have a ton of cap space and an opportunity to build. All of a sudden you look at the AFC West, and they’re kind of on the rise and you’re very familiar with the AFC West so you know. It’s very competitive.”

Reid also went out of his way to praise second-year quarterback Derek Carr.

“Jack's got a good situation,” Reid said. “That kid [Carr] can play. Like, really play.”

Carr and the Raiders hope Reid sees more of the November Raiders than the December Raiders in the future.