Despite the Raiders not playing like a playoff team and barely surviving their matchup with the winless Jets, they did get the W. While their performance doesn’t suggest they will be going on a playoff run, in terms of where they stand in the playoff picture right now, putting another point in the win column is all that matters.
Even with the win, however, they still sit right where they did last week. That is right outside the playoff bubble.
As we enter the final quarter of the season now, perhaps their biggest matchup is on tap. The Raiders are currently sitting eighth in the seeding. Just ahead of them in the seeding is the 8-4 Colts. As it happens, that’s who they play this week.
What that means is a win or a loss is basically worth double what it would normally mean. Should the Raiders pull out the win, they would swap spots with the Colts in the seeding. Should the Colts win, they would put some distance between them the Raiders could have trouble making up.
Meanwhile, the Chiefs just clinched the AFC West.
AFC Playoff Standings
| Seed | Team | Division | Record | Div seed | Conf record |
| 1 | Pittsburgh | North | 11-1-0 | 1 | 8-0-0 |
| 2 | x-Kansas City | West | 11-1-0 | 1 | 9-1-0 |
| 3 | Buffalo | East | 9-3-0 | 1 | 6-2-0 |
| 4 | Tennessee | South | 8-4-0 | 1 | 6-4-0 |
| 5 | Cleveland | North | 9-3-0 | 2 | 6-3-0 |
| 6 | Miami | East | 8-4-0 | 2 | 5-3-0 |
| 7 | Indianapolis | South | 8-4-0 | 2 | 4-4-0 |
In the hunt
| Seed | Team | Division | Record | Div seed | Conf record |
| 8 | Las Vegas | West | 7-5-0 | 2 | 5-3-0 |
| 9 | Baltimore | North | 7-5-0 | 3 | 4-5-0 |
| 10 | New England | East | 6-6-0 | 3 | 5-4-0 |
Week 14 games to watch
Patriots (10) at Rams
Titans (4) at Jaguars
Chiefs (2) at Dolphins (6)
Colts (7) at Raiders (8)
Steelers (1) at Bills (3)
Ravens (9) at Browns (5)
