The Raiders were sitting at 3-2 just two weeks ago with their head coach resigning in shocking fashion. Since then, everything has gone right for the Raiders.
They’ve won back-to-back games, including a divisional win against the Broncos in Week 6. Sitting at 5-2, they are tied for the best record in the AFC with the Ravens, Bengals, and Titans.
According to FiveThirtyEight, their playoff odds have risen from 54 percent to 65 percent after Week 7. In fact, the site gives Las Vegas a 26 percent chance to win the AFC West even despite their Week 5 loss to the Chargers.
Their current projections have the Raiders going 10-7 on the year, which would surely be enough to make the playoffs in the AFC. But the Raiders should have higher goals than that.
Based on what we’ve seen this season, no one in the conference is significantly better than them and they should be able to compete for the division and maybe even the first-round bye.
Needless to say, the Raiders are trending in the right direction. They are off in Week 8 on their bye but will take on the Giants in a very winnable game in Week 9. The Raiders certainly look like an eventual playoff team.
