The Las Vegas Raiders head into week 12 coming off a loss but still demanding respect.
Wins in the NFL are hard to come by. Wins against Patrick Mahomes, Andy Reid, and the Kansas City Chiefs are even harder. They are seen as the best team in football despite not having the best record. So far in 2020, the Las Vegas Raiders are the only team to hand the Chiefs a loss. They did so when they dropped 40 on them at Arrowhead back in Week 5.
This past week on Sunday Night Football, the division rivals went at it again with the Raiders once again going blow for blow with the defending champions. Mahomes drove the Chiefs down the field for an admittedly easy looking drive for the winning touchdown to Travis Kielce with 28 seconds to play. There are no moral victories but the Raiders don’t have much to be ashamed of.
The AFC is absolutely loaded this season, with the Raiders sitting in the No. 7 seed as of now with a record of 6-4. The seeds and teams should see some shuffling as we head down the stretch, but the Raiders are still in a great spot, Raider nation should feel comfortable with the way their team in the silver and black are playing.
With two winnable games against the Atlanta Falcons and New York Jets on the horizon, the Raiders should be able to mount a little cushion in the AFC playoff race. Of course, they were in a very similar spot last year, so they should know better not to take this stretch lightly.
After these two games, they find themselves playing their last four games against teams in the thick of the playoff race, including two division games.
The Las Vegas Raiders have earned the respect of an AFC playoff team.
The thing that makes the Raiders a threat though, is not just that they’re finally winning, but how they’re winning. The Raiders run the ball with power thanks to Josh Jacobs and one of the biggest and strongest offensive lines in football.
When it comes to winning late in the season and in the playoffs, being able to control the clock by running the ball and keeping your offense on the field is crucial, and the Raiders are built to do just that.
The Raiders are also built to beat the Chiefs, and possibly the best-built team in the AFC at just that. While other teams were gearing up on defense to try and stop the Chiefs, the Raiders realized that the Chiefs can’t be stopped, only hoped to be contained.
Instead of building their team to stop them, they built their team to try and match them blow for blow. A tall task to be sure, but with their offense being able to run the ball as they can, anything is possible. It’s why the Raiders have not only been the only team to give the Chiefs two good games, but they’re also the only team to beat the Chiefs.
The Raiders have the ability to make some noise in the postseason, and sure they aren’t perfect, particularly on defense, but they can get hot at the right time, which goes a long way, and it’s time for them to get the respect they deserve. Respect is earned in the postseason, however, so right now they need to stay on their commitment to excellence and when it comes to the final stretch of the regular season, just win baby.