5 takeaways from the Raiders’ blowout loss to the Patriots
By John Buhler
Somehow, the Raiders are still alive in the AFC playoff picture at 4-6.
How does this keep on happening? The Raiders aren’t good at 4-6 on the year, but somehow are still very much alive in the AFC West division race and the AFC Wild Card picture. Clearly, this is a down year for the entire AFC. When the Jacksonville Jaguars are your No. 3 seed if the season ended today, that’s all you really need to know.
When it comes to the AFC West, Oakland is only two games back of the Kansas City Chiefs (6-4) for the division lead. Keep in mind that the Chiefs have just lost four of five games after a 5-0 start. Oakland does have the head-to-head tiebreaker over Kansas City.
The Los Angeles Chargers somehow find themselves in the playoff picture as well after being brought back from the dead. They are 4-6, but have the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Raiders. These two rivals meet on New Year’s Eve in Week 11 over in Carson.
While the Tennessee Titans are 6-4, Oakland has the head-to-head tiebreaker over them. They would be the No. 5 seed. The No. 6 seed is the Baltimore Ravens at 5-5, but Oakland lost to the Ravens head-to-head. In short, the Raiders are 4-6, but the AFC is terrible. New England and the Pittsburgh Steelers are the only two teams in the conference that have a shot at winning the Super Bowl.