Heading into Week 8, the Raiders playoff odds hovered around 35-37 percent, according to FiveThirtyEight.com. Sitting at 3-3, the Raiders were just outside the playoff picture with the Ravens, Browns and Colts all ahead of them in the Wild Card standings.
But after an impressive win in Cleveland against the Browns, the Raiders have seen their odds to make the playoffs rise in a big way. At FiveThirtyEight, their odds to make the 2020-2021 playoffs sit at 52 percent. While they have one fewer win than the Browns (5-3), they now own the pivotal tie-breaker.
It also helps that the Raiders’ schedule really opens up in the second half of the season. Las Vegas will play just one more playoff team (Kansas City Chiefs) from the 2019 season and only two games against teams with a winning record this year (Chiefs, Dolphins).
The site currently projects the Raiders to win nine games this season, meaning that they would go 5-4 over the next few months. If they can secure a win over the Chargers in Week 9, they would likely see their odds increase to the mid-60s.
Needless to say, the Raiders are off to a strong start to the 2020 season. And if they can continue to play as well as they did in Week 8, they certainly appear to be playoff-bound.
