Just Blog Baby
FanSided

AFC Wild Card standings, Week 11: Raiders very much in the mix

By John Buhler

MIAMI GARDENS, FL - NOVEMBER 05: Derek Carr No. 4 of the Oakland Raiders of the Oakland Raiders calls a play during a game against the Miami Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium on November 5, 2017 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
MIAMI GARDENS, FL - NOVEMBER 05: Derek Carr No. 4 of the Oakland Raiders of the Oakland Raiders calls a play during a game against the Miami Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium on November 5, 2017 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

The Oakland Raiders got some help from other teams not getting it done on the field in Week 10. Here are the updated AFC standings and wild card picture.

With Week 11 of the 2017 NFL season to begin on Thursday night at Heinz Field between two division leaders in the Tennessee Titans (6-3) and the Pittsburgh Steelers (7-2), let’s take a look at how the AFC playoff picture is shaping out.

Do the Oakland Raiders (4-5) have a shot at winning the AFC West this year? What are their chances that they get into the AFC playoffs again as a wild card team? The Silver and Black still have seven games to play, so we’ll just have to wait and see how this all shakes out.

Here are the updated standings through Week 10 after the Miami Dolphins’ loss on Monday Night Football to the Carolina Panthers on Nov. 13.

AFC Standings, Week 11

  1. Pittsburgh Steelers (7-2)
  2. New England Patriots (7-2)
  3. Kansas City Chiefs (6-3)
  4. Tennessee Titans (6-3)
  5. Jacksonville Jaguars (6-3)
  6. Buffalo Bills (5-4)
  7. Baltimore Ravens (4-5)
  8. Oakland Raiders (4-5)
  9. Miami Dolphins (4-5)
  10. New York Jets (4-6)
  11. Houston Texans (3-6)
  12. Cincinnati Bengals (3-6)
  13. Los Angeles Chargers (3-6)
  14. Denver Broncos (3-6)
  15. Indianapolis Colts (3-7)
  16. Cleveland Browns (0-9)

Pittsburgh and the New England Patriots (7-2) would have first-round byes in the 2017 AFC Playoffs if the season ended today. The Steelers get home-field advantage over the Patriots thanks to having a better win-loss record in the AFC over New England.

The Kansas City Chiefs (6-3) and the Titans would get the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds as the winners of the AFC West and AFC South divisions, respectively. Tennessee has the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Jacksonville Jaguars (6-3) in the AFC South standings. Jacksonville and the Buffalo Bills (5-4) would be the two AFC Wild Card teams as the No. 5 and No. 6 seeds, respectively.

Oakland is actually in a great spot at only two games back of the Chiefs in the AFC West race and a game back of Buffalo for the No. 6 seed. While the Raiders have the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Chiefs, they will have to meet in Kansas City in a few weeks. Buffalo does have the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Raiders.

The two other teams that are 4-5 with the Raiders are the Baltimore Ravens (4-5) and the Miami Dolphins (4-5). Baltimore has the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Raiders, while Oakland has the head-to-head tiebreaker over Miami. The New York Jets (4-6) are the other team with at least four wins on the season in the AFC. Oakland has the head-to-head tiebreaker over New York.

More from Just Blog Baby

As for the six other teams in the AFC, they have three or fewer wins through 10 weeks. It’s hard to see any of them getting in to the AFC playoffs at this point. That being said, the Denver Broncos (3-6) and the Los Angeles Chargers (3-6) have the head-to-head tiebreakers over the Raiders. However, Oakland will get another crack at these two AFC West rivals this season.

Overall, it looks like 10-6 definitely gets a team into the AFC playoffs. 9-7 might be good enough to get the Raiders in as the No. 6 seed. However, that won’t be strong enough to win the AFC West, barring the Chiefs collapsing spectacularly. Kansas City should be favored in its remaining seven games. The bulk of the Chiefs’ difficult games are out of the way.

Oakland should be able to get to 4-3 in their final seven games, assuming wins over Denver, Los Angeles, an awful New York Giants team (1-8) and a Dallas Cowboys team without Ezekiel Elliott (5-4).

Next: 5 Raiders to watch vs. Patriots

The Raiders need to pick up a win over either New England, Kansas City or the Philadelphia Eagles (8-1). All three of those games will be away from the Bay Area. 5-2 will be really hard for the Raiders, but that is what it will inevitably take to get in this season at 9-7.

Home/Las Vegas Raiders News