Colts will test out Raiders’ chances

It’s time for the Las Vegas Raiders to identify themselves as a contender or resign themselves to another late-season fade sure to infuriate a loyal but skeptical fan base.

The Indianapolis Colts (8- 4) are a game head of the Raiders (7- 5) in the race for one of three AFC wild card berths going in to Sunday’s game at Allegiant Stadium. They provide a barometer of whether the Raiders’ playoff aspirations are legitimate.

Beat the Colts and the playoffs seem real, with the likelihood of 10 wins necessary to qualify. A loss wouldn’t take the Raiders out of contention, but they’d probably have to win their last three to get in. Based on the way they’ve played of late, that’s a tough sell.

The last time the Raiders went to the playoffs in 2016, quarterback Derek Carr was out with a broken right fibula.

“It’s been a long wait for me,” Carr said. “I would love nothing more than to be able to do that, but if we don’t win this game, it doesn’t mean anything. We have our work cut out for us against one of the best teams in the NFL . . . we’ve got to bring it. If not, they’ll come in and run us out of our own stadium.”

At first glance, the Colts look like the better all-around team, certainly better defensively and with a similar ability to be balanced on offense and spread the ball around with former AFC West nemesis Philip Rivers at quarterback.

On the flip side, the Raiders have beaten both the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs and New Orleans Saints and are looking to prove something after going 1-5 in their last six games a year ago en route to 7-9.

The question is whether the Raiders can conjure up the kind of play they did against the Chiefs and Saints after sputtering in the last two games. They lost to Atlanta 43-6 and then needed Carr’s 46-yard pass to Henry Ruggs III with five seconds left to beat the winless Jets.

“We’re excited, man. We’re playing for something,” running back Jalen Richard said. “To have that opportunity in December is amazing. I haven’t felt this for awhile, like my rookie year (2016). We had little glimpses of it last year but went on a stink and basically lost our way out of it . . . we really can’t wait to play.”

Coach Jon Gruden said his team hasn’t put together a complete game all season. The Raiders will need something close to that against Indianapolis.

Nationally, the Raiders lost a lot of shine after the Falcons blowout. Then last week, the focus was more on how the Jets lost.