Oakland Raiders: Power ranking the remaining games by difficulty
By John Buhler
The Oakland Raiders will need to go at least 5-2 in their final seven games to make the AFC playoffs. Let’s power rank the remaining games by difficulty.
The Oakland Raiders are on their bye this week at 4-5 on the year. It was a much-needed by for the Raiders, as the try to get healthier and regroup for the final seven games of their 2017 NFL season.
After starting the year out 2-0, the Raiders would lose four straight games to fall to 2-4 and almost out of the AFC playoff picture. The Raiders would get a big primetime win over the arch rival Kansas City Chiefs on Thursday Night Football in Week 7, but would fall the following week on the road against the Buffalo Bills.
Needing a win to stay alive in the AFC playoff picture yet again, the Raiders were able to get another victory by beating the Miami Dolphins on Sunday Night Football in Week 9. Being 4-5 isn’t ideal, but it’s enough to have the Raiders in ninth place in the conference at the time of their bye.
Does the Raiders’ remaining schedule get easier? Not exactly. So what we’re going to do is power rank the Raiders’ final seven games on the probability that they’ll get the w. Easiest games first, then the more difficult ones come later. Let’s get to it.
31. . NFC East. Week 13 (Home). New York Giants. 7. player
The easiest win the Raiders have left on the slate will be Week 13 at home versus the awful New York Giants. If the Raiders can’t beat the worst Giants team in over a decade at home, then they don’t deserve to go to the AFC playoffs.
Entering play on Sunday in Week 10, the Giants are 1-7 on the season. Their lone win came strangely against the Denver Broncos on the road on a Sunday night game. Who saw that coming? Then again, Denver has cratered since that Week 6, losers of four straight.
New York just needs the season to end. Once wide receivers Odell Beckham Jr. and Brandon Marshall went down with season-ending injuries, it was season over in New York. It’s safe to say that the Giants are one of only four teams in football that are already out of it: New York, the Cleveland Browns (0-8), the San Francisco 49ers (0-9) and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-6).
New York will play the 49ers this week, but are probably going to lose this game. Unlike New York, San Francisco is still playing hard for its head coach. We should expect the Giants to be picking in the top-three or five in the upcoming draft, likely targeting Eli Manning‘s replacement. It’s been a frustrating year in Oakland, but at least it’s not as bad as what’s going on in the NFC in East Rutherford.