Las Vegas Raiders X-Factors against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 15
By Alex Perl
The Las Vegas Raiders must win to stay alive in the AFC Playoff race Thursday, and here are the X-factors if they want to do so.
It is Do or Die for the Las Vegas Raiders, as Week 15 is significant as the team tried to improve on their win total from a year ago, but also still holding on to dear life in hopes of a miracle playoff spot. With their loss against the Indianapolis Colts last Sunday, the Raiders cannot afford a single loss the rest of the way, and they begin that quest against division rival Los Angeles tonight.
Week 15 will be no easy task for the Raiders, who are playing on a short week and have seen so many of their key players listed as out for the contest. Not to mention the defense is now being run by a 71-year-old defensive line coach in Rod Marinelli after the recent firing of defensive coordinator Paul Guenther, they will have to be perfect to come away with a win here.
The Raiders would seem to be the favorites, but after some disappointing moments in the last few weeks, including a last-minute victory vs a clearly tanking team in the New York Jets team, and crushing losses at the hands of the Atlanta Falcons and Indianapolis Colts, the Raiders also have a huge chance to blow this one. Derek Carr and company will have to make do without Henry Ruggs on offense, and as stated earlier, the defense is missing multiple starters.
With that said let’s take a look at some key X-factors for the Raiders to obtain victory.