The Raiders have now lost back-to-back games and sit at 5-4. They are still right in the thick of things in the AFC Wild Card hunt, but they need to start getting some wins and avoid falling too far behind.
Luckily, they will face many of the Wild Card hopefuls over the next few weeks, including the Broncos, Chargers, Browns and Colts. However, their most important game of the season might be this week.
In a recent article by ESPN’s 32 beat writers, they named every team’s biggest game left on their schedule. For the Raiders, that was none other than their Week 11 matchup with the Bengals. Here is what Paul Gutierrez had to say about that upcoming contest:
“Yes, Sunday at home against the Bengals. No, there’s not some huge, old-school beef to settle due to Ickey Woods or Ken Anderson. It’s just that the Raiders’ season is threatening to spiral out of control — again — and until Las Vegas wins a game, it will simply become more of a self-fulfilling prophecy. Or did you not see a 6-4 start in 2019 turn into a 7-9 finish or the 6-3 start last year end at 8-8? These Raiders started 5-2, and after embarrassing defeats at the Giants and home to the Chiefs, they look nothing like their former selves.”
With both the Raiders and Bengals sitting at 5-4, the winner of this game will be in prime position to make the playoffs. The winner will hold a very important tiebreaker as the AFC Wild Card race is going to be extremely tight.
After a disappointing loss in Week 10 to the Chiefs, look for the Raiders to come back and play with a sense of urgency in Week 11 against the Bengals. It’s not quite a must-win game for the Raiders, but it’s close.
