Until the very final seconds of the game, the idea of a playoff berth for the Las Vegas Raiders seemed to be drifting away. Down by four points with just a few ticks of the clock left, the Raiders were looking at 6-6 and three-straight losses. But fortunately, Derek Carr found a wide-open Henry Ruggs down the field for the game-winning score.
Sitting at 7-5, the Raiders are right in the thick of things in the AFC Wild Card hunts. According to FiveThirtyEight, the team’s playoff chances at 46 percent at the end of Week 13. That is a fairly significant increase from last week after the odds dropped down to 30-35 percent after the team’s loss to the Falcons.
Now, these odds could drop some with a Ravens win on Tuesday night against the Dallas Cowboys. But an upset would actually increase the Raiders’ chances by quite a bit. The Raiders are currently on the outside looking in when it comes to the Wild Card hunt. But with upcoming against the Colts and Dolphins, that can change quickly.
Consider this; a win in Week 14 against the Colts would increase the team’s playoff chances to 70-71 percent. But a loss would give them a less than 25 percent chance to play in the tournament in January.
Needless to say, next week’s game against the Colts is the biggest of the season. And the Raiders are going to have to play much better than what we’ve seen over the last two weeks. If they can pull off the win, they will certainly be in the driver’s seat for their first playoff berth since 2016.
