Through 13 weeks of the 2017 NFL season, the Oakland Raiders have found themselves in a fortunate spot. After starting off strong at 2-0, the Raiders stumbled through a 0-4 stretch before recently recapturing some of their old offensive magic.
At 6-6, Oakland is in a three-way tie for first in the AFC West and have a legitimate shot to win the division. According to Scott Bair of NBC Sports Bay Area, Derek Carr is looking to win at all costs:
Trust me, I don’t care how we win. I just want to win,” quarterback Derek Carr said. “I’ve said that since my rookie year when we were 0-10, when I was begging for wins. Obviously, you want to go out and throw for 400 every game and win by 40, rush for 200 yards and all those things. At the end of the day, this game is so hard. It’s not easy.”
The Raiders have looked sloppy in recent wins against the Miami Dolphins and New York Giants, but wins are at a premium now given how close the AFC West standings are. Jack Del Rio admitted that the AFC West has three legitimate division contenders and that the Raiders will need to step it up in the weeks.
Week 14 represents a pivotal week for the silver and black as they will take on the Kansas City Chiefs. The once-dominant Chiefs are in serious danger of dropping out of the playoff race, so this should be a tight game throughout.
