The Las Vegas Raiders’ disappointing season reached a new low in Week 14 as they squandered a 13-point lead in the fourth quarter to fall to the Los Angeles Rams, dropping to 5-8 on the year.
Even with their latest collapse, the Raiders are still mathematically alive for a playoff spot. However, a lot has to break right for that to happen.
For starters, the Raiders must win their remaining four games against the New England Patriots, Pittsburgh Steelers, San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs. All but one of those games will be played at Allegiant Stadium.
That’s a tough task to achieve, but even if the Raiders are able to win out, they will still need help from other teams. The New York Jets must lose two of their next four games against the Detroit Lions, Jacksonville Jaguars, Seattle Seahawks and Miami Dolphins.
The Los Angeles Chargers also need to lose two of their next four games in order for the Raiders to sneak into the playoffs. They play the Tennessee Titans, Indianapolis Colts, Rams and Denver Broncos over the next month.
The New England Patriots additionally must lose one of their next five games against the Arizona Cardinals, Raiders, Cincinnati Bengals, Dolphins and Buffalo Bills. The Raiders could simply check this off by defeating the Patriots in Week 15.
The Raiders also needed the Cleveland Browns to lose at least one of their last five games, which happened with a 23-10 defeat to the Bengals on Sunday.
