Oakland Raiders Week 14 X-Factors against the Tennessee Titans
By Matt Holder
It’s December and the Oakland Raiders have reached crunch time for their postseason hopes. The Tennessee Titans stand in their way and the Raiders x-factors must perform.
After last Sunday’s demoralizing defeat, the Oakland Raiders playoff hopes look pretty bleak. The team has been outscored 74 to 12 in the last two contests, while other AFC Wild Card contenders have managed to take care of business. However, the next four games are very winnable if the Raiders x-factors can live up to expectations.
Oakland begins the last quarter of the season with its toughest challenge, the Tennessee Titans. The battle for the AFC’s second Wild Card spot includes Tennessee and with a three-game winning streak, they might be the hottest team in the league. Also, the team is 5-1 since quarterback Ryan Tannehill took over as the starter for Marcus Mariota.
The Titans are a game ahead of the Raiders in the postseason chase, which adds to the importance of this game for both sides. Obviously, the winner of this matchup gets the tiebreaker advantage and with such a close playoff race, that’s an invaluable asset. For both teams, Sunday could be the difference between playing games in January and watching them.
While this is a winnable contest for the Silver and Black, the margin for error is thin and the following players need to have a big day.