Playoff chances getting slim
Wild card was only hope; now Raiders need help there, too
The Raiders were eliminated from any chance of winning the AFC West before they even took the field on Sunday.
Three hours later, their wildcard chances were dealt a massive blow as a result of an ugly 44-27 loss to the Colts at Allegiant Stadium.
Kansas City clinched the division with its win over Miami, a game that actually helped the Raiders’ playoff chances.
The Raiders would’ve needed to win out and have the Chiefs lose their final four games just to force a tie in the division, so the wild card was always going to be the best route to the postseason.
Those odds are now looking longer as they fell to 7-6 with the loss. The Browns and Colts both have nine wins. The Colts now own the tie-breaker against the Raiders, and the Raiders, by virtue of their 16-6 win on Nov. 1, own the tie-breaker over the Browns.
If those two teams manage to secure those two wild-card spots, that would leave just the third spot, which was implemented this year, for the Raiders, 8-5 Dolphins and 7-5 Ravens.
On the Sunday Night Football broadcast, NBC listed the Raiders’ chances of making the playoffs at 26 percent.
The scoreboard watching will start in earnest on Monday night when the Browns host the Ravens. A Cleveland win would put the Raiders in a much stronger position. The Ravens will be strong favorites in each of their final three games.
There are several possibilities that could come into play as far as tiebreakers down the road, but the only real scenario for the Raiders to make the playoffs would be to win their final three games, including a primetime home game against the Dolphins, and hope for a little bit of help. They would own a head-to-head tiebreaker with Baltimore in that case, but could get lost in the shuffle if three or more teams are tied.
Coach Jon Gruden insists he’s not worrying about what all the other teams in the race are doing.
“We can’t worry about the playoffs and who is winning and losing around the league,” he said. “We have to take care of our business. I don’t want to hear any more playoffs questions.”
The challenge now is putting a disappointing loss in the rear-view mirror and trying to regroup on a short week to play a division rival on Thursday in the Chargers, who lost a heart-breaker to the Raiders in Los Angeles last month.
“When you need a win against a team you’re battling with for a playoff spot and you don’t get it, it rips your heart out,” quarterback Derek Carr said. “It is what it is. You can’t get it back, but unless it’s the last game of the season, you have to move on and prepare for another game.”
Moreau supports ALS research
Raiders tight end Foster Moreau wore shoes honoring former Saints safety Steve Gleason’s No White Flags Foundation as part of the NFL’S My
Cause My Cleats program.
Moreau, who scored a 47-yard touchdown in the first quarter, said he looked up to Gleason as a youth in Louisiana.
“Team Gleason is basically ALS fundraising and research to try to help the people affected by ALS and try to raise money to find a cure, bring advancements in technology to try to help these people out,” he said. “No White Flags means a lot to me being from New Orleans.”
Behind the eight ball
The Raiders’ defensive struggles put the offense in poor starting field position throughout the game.
Indianapolis punted just once and didn’t turn the ball over, preventing the Raiders from getting any opportunities on a short field.
Carr and the offense never started a drive outside its own 25-yard-line. The average starting field position was the 24.
Defense suffers more losses
Defensive lineman Clelin Ferrell left Sunday’s game in the first half after hurting his shoulder, the latest in a string of injuries on that side of the ball.
Cornerback Damon Arnette and safety Jeff Heath missed the contest with concussions, and safety Johnathan Abram and linebacker Nicholas Morrow exited Sunday’s game to be evaluated for concussions.
Defensive end Carl Nassib was a healthy scratch for a second straight game.