John Spytek made it perfectly clear on Tuesday that the Las Vegas Raiders were not "punting" on the 2026 NFL season by trading Kirk Cousins. This organization fully believes in Fernando Mendoza, and they wouldn't have made the big change if he wasn't undoubtedly ready. It was his time.
And perhaps he is just the spark that this Raiders team needs, as they have lost five of their last six games, and their offense has contributed its three lowest-scoring outputs in the last five weeks. If Las Vegas wanted a chance to make a postseason run, it needed a shot in the arm. Mendoza is just that.
After last week's win over the New York Jets, the Silver and Black climbed a spot in the AFC playoff picture, but they were still on the outside looking in. Following this week's loss to the San Francisco 49ers, the Raiders held firm in the standings, but missed an opportunity to make up ground.
Raiders hold firm in AFC playoff picture, but missed a big opportunity
Here are the latest AFC standings after Week 9:
1. Buffalo Bills (7-1)
2. Denver Broncos (7-2)
3. Jacksonville Jaguars (6-2)
4. Pittsburgh Steelers (6-2)
5. Kansas City Chiefs (6-2)
6. Cincinnati Bengals (6-2)
7. New England Patriots (5-4)
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8. Cleveland Browns (5-4)
9. Las Vegas Raiders (4-5)
10. Baltimore Ravens (4-5)
11. Houston Texans (3-5)
12. New York Jets (2-7)
13. Indianapolis Colts (2-7)
14. Miami Dolphins (1-7)
15. Tennessee Titans (1-7)
16. Los Angeles Chargers (0-8)
Las Vegas maintained the No. 9 seed in the AFC playoff picture, which means that they are still firmly in the hunt. But the Texans closed the gap on them, and the Raiders could have ascended with a win over the 49ers on Sunday, seeing as the Patriots and Browns, who are just ahead of them, both lost.
Beating San Francisco was always a tall task, and Klint Kubiak's team at least competed, playing them much closer than the scoreboard showed, whereas the Browns lost to the New Orleans Saints, and the Patriots got absolutely smoked by the Green Bay Packers. Perhaps the tide can still turn.
It won't be any easier for the Raiders this week, though, as they host the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday. Fortunately for them, other teams around them in the standings have tough draws as well. New England travels to take on the Detroit Lions, and Houston and Cleveland face off. Only one can win.
Baltimore has an easy game at home against the Los Angeles Chargers, but in a master vs. apprentice matchup (Jim Harbaugh vs. Jesse Minter), and with the Ravens putting a brand-new quarterback out there, this could very well be that random game that the Chargers win on MNF.
Honestly, let's hope so.
Pittsburgh and Cincinnati also face each other this week, so one of those teams will drop to 6-3 and be a game closer to Las Vegas, no matter what it does against Seattle. Raider Nation should cheer for the current division leaders to maintain their lead and for the Wild Card teams to drop contests.
That is the surest way to ascend the standings and for the Silver and Black to sneak into the playoffs.
Latest Raiders playoff odds
According to NFL.com, the Raiders only have a 12 percent chance of making the postseason in 2026. If they beat the Seahawks in Week 10, their odds will rise to 20 percent. With a loss to Seattle, they drop to just 8 percent.
The Athletic has a different playoff simulator, and they have Las Vegas with just a 7 percent chance of making the playoffs as of this writing. A victory on Sunday would raise those odds to just 13 percent, while a loss would plummet the Silver and Black to a mere 5 percent.
ESPN's current oddsmaker gives Kubiak's team juonlyst a 2 percent chance of making the playoffs as things stand before Week 10. That feels ridiculously low for a 4-5 team with winnable games on the schedule, but what do we know?
Let's just take it week by week and hope that the Raiders string together some wins with their new quarterback. Fernando Mendoza playing his best football and learning on the job is most important for the long haul anyway.
Although a trip back to the postseason would be electric.
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