The Oakland Raiders fell to 6-7 on the year after Week 14. They are still alive in the AFC wild card race. What has to happen for them to get in?
Week 14 was one that the Oakland Raiders cannot be happy about. They lost to the arch rival Kansas City Chiefs 26-15 to fall back a game of first-place in the tight AFC West race with three games remaining.
At 6-7, it’s looking pretty bleak for the Silver and Black to make the AFC playoffs, either as a division winner or potentially as a wild card team. Presumably, Oakland will need to win out and finish 9-7 to be in position to clinch a playoff spot. Maybe 8-8 is good enough to get in this year? Who knows? We’ll see.
Let’s take a look at the updated AFC standings entering Week 15 after the New England Patriots’ loss to the Miami Dolphins on Monday Night Football. How does this impact the playoff picture throughout the AFC?
AFC standings entering Week 15
- y-Pittsburgh Steelers (11-2)
- New England Patriots (10-3)
- Jacksonville Jaguars (9-4)
- Kansas City Chiefs (7-6)
- Tennessee Titans (8-5)
- Buffalo Bills (7-6)
- Baltimore Ravens (7-6)
- Los Angeles Chargers (7-6)
- Oakland Raiders (6-7)
- Miami Dolphins (6-7)
- New York Jets (5-8)
- Cincinnati Bengals (5-8)
- Houston Texans (4-9)
- Denver Broncos (4-9)
- Indianapolis Colts (3-10)
- Cleveland Browns (0-13)
y – clinched division title
The Pittsburgh Steelers (11-2) lead the AFC after clinching the AFC North division title after beating the Baltimore Ravens (7-6) on Sunday Night Football. Pittsburgh edges out the Patriots (10-3) by a game for the best record in the AFC. Those two AFC rivals will meet on Sunday afternoon this week to potentially decide the No. 1 seed the rest of the way.
The No. 3 seed would go to the Jacksonville Jaguars (9-4), who lead the Tennessee Titans (8-5) by a game in the AFC South standings. That division could be decided when those two rivals meet in Nashville in Week 17.
Kansas City remains atop the AFC West standings entering Week 15. The Chiefs have the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Los Angeles Chargers (7-6) from their meeting in Carson earlier this season. Whichever team between these two wins in Arrowhead on Saturday night could very well win the AFC West this season.
Your two wild card teams entering Week 15 would be Tennessee and the Buffalo Bills (7-6). Buffalo edges out Baltimore and Los Angeles in tie-breaking procedures. The Bills have a better strength over victory over the Ravens. Baltimore has a better conference record over Los Angeles. While the Chargers beat the Bills head-to-head, Buffalo too has a better conference record over Los Angeles. So it’s Buffalo as the No. 6 seed, Baltimore in seventh place and Los Angeles in eight place.
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The Raiders enter Week 15 in ninth place in the AFC. They edge out the 10th place Dolphins by virtue of the head to head tiebreaker. The two other teams that are still alive in the AFC wild card race are a pair of 5-8 teams in the New York Jets and the Cincinnati Bengals. New York is the 11th place team over the 12th place Bengals by virtue of a better conference record.
Four teams in the AFC are eliminated from playoff contention with three weeks remaining. Those teams are the Houston Texans (4-9), the Denver Broncos (4-9), the Indianapolis Colts (3-10) and the only winless team in football in the Cleveland Browns (0-13).
With one of six playoff tickets punched in the AFC, what do the Raiders have going for them or against in them in the wild card picture? The Raiders hold three head-to-head tiebreakers with teams still in the mix: Tennessee, Miami and New York. However, Baltimore, Buffalo and Los Angeles have the head-to-head over Oakland. The Raiders do get the Chargers at the end of the year to maybe right that Week 6 wrong.
Next: 5 Raiders to watch vs. Cowboys in Week 15
To have any shot of getting in, the Raiders have to finish at worst 8-8. While having the tiebreaker over Tennessee could be beneficial, the prognosis is not good with Baltimore and Buffalo having potentially that crucial tiebreaker. Oakland is still alive in the AFC wild card race, but probably not for long.