Heading into Week 11, the Raiders, Steelers, and Colts all had the same record (5-4) and were competing for the final wild-card slot in the AFC. But on Thursday night, Pittsburgh fell to the Browns, 21-7, dropping its record down to 5-5.
With an incredibly easy schedule coming up, the Raiders are now in prime position to steal one of the wild-card spots. Oakland will face off against the 0-9 Bengals on Sunday and then will travel to New York to play the 2-7 Jets.
If the Raiders can win those two games, they should start to open up some distance between them and the Steelers and Colts. Both Indianapolis and Pittsburgh have a fairly easy schedule coming up, so getting wins over the next two games against lesser opponents is critical.
Pittsburgh has opened the door for the Raiders to make the playoffs. Now it’s up to them to capitalize on that chance.
