Oakland Raiders: Playoffs Start This Week

Last Sunday’s upset victory over the Denver Broncos was a great sign for the Oakland Raiders. Not only was it an in-division win against one of the best defenses in the NFL, it was a much-needed victory to keep Oakland’s loss total at 7.

For the Raiders, the mentality from this point on must be that every game is a one-and-done scenario. The Oakland Raiders are now, unofficially, in the playoffs.

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While it might be unreasonable to expect the Raiders to win out against the schedule they have left, it’s absolutely unrealistic to believe they can make it to the playoffs if they lose again. Sure, Green Bay will be a tough “out” this weekend. And Kansas City to finish the season looks to be a mismatch for Oakland. But they, along with the match-up versus the Chargers in week 16, have to be wins for a chance at the real post season.

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One just has to look at the teams the Raiders are contending with for a wild card spot to see why Oakland is in a must win situation for the rest of 2015.

The Steelers, a team Oakland has already lost to, is sitting at 8-5. To expect them to lose all three of their remaining games is a pipe dream. While the Steelers have two road games left in the division, the Ravens and Browns don’t exactly look like world beaters.

The Jets, another team currently 8-5, technically have less of advantage over Oakland since the Raiders beat them and would hold the tie breaker. But like Pittsburgh, they have only to win one more game to eliminate Oakland, and have the imploding Dallas Cowboys this weekend. If the Jets lose that game, the Raiders hopes would go way up, however, as the New York would have to beat either the Patriots at home or Bills on the road to eliminate Oakland.

Lastly, the Kansas City Chiefs also currently hold an 8-5 record, and are riding a six game win streak. They look to be the biggest threat for the Raiders playoff chances, as they have not only have a weak schedule the next two weeks (Ravens and Browns), but as mentioned earlier play Oakland week 17. The Raiders have to hope that game is for a trip to a wild card weekend match-up.

If Oakland takes care of their side of things and finishes 9-7, the fact is that they compare favorably to some of the teams they might have to face in the playoffs. Khalil Mack just showed the country they aren’t afraid to go into Denver and beat the Broncos. The Bengals look to be in trouble if QB Andy Dalton is out for the season, and Oakland would probably be favored if they had to play current 4th seed Indianapolis.

First things first; a win this weekend against the Packers is a must. The Raiders must treat this week’s contest as their own private wild card playoff home game. The Packers, depending on how the Jets, Chiefs and Steelers do, could eliminate Oakland with a road win. A “win at all costs” process must be followed by the silver and black.

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The Raiders have a chance to show they have arrived, maybe a year earlier than most critics thought they would have.