The Raiders are back in the mix, even if the road ahead is still crowded.
After a 3-0 start pushed Las Vegas into the conversation early, a four-game losing streak knocked the shine off that fast. But Sunday’s win over the New York Jets got the Raiders back to 4-4, and with the trade deadline looming, they’re no longer drifting. They’re hanging around in the AFC playoff race again.
Through eight weeks, that means a climb back into relevance. Las Vegas is sitting ninth in the conference standings, one spot ahead of the Baltimore Ravens and just one game away, at least in theory, from the final Wild Card position. Tiebreakers will matter, but the gap isn’t huge and the Raiders are still in the picture.
The updated AFC playoff field after Week 8 has the Buffalo Bills at No. 1 at 6-1, followed by the Denver Broncos and Pittsburgh Steelers at 6-2. The Jacksonville Jaguars, Kansas City Chiefs and Cincinnati Bengals are all 5-2, while the New England Patriots hold the seventh seed at 5-3.
Right behind them are the Browns at 5-3, then the Raiders and Ravens at 4-4. The rest of the conference trails behind, with the Texans at 2-5, the Jets and Colts at 2-6, the Dolphins at 1-6, the Titans at 1-7 and the Chargers still winless at 0-7.
Las Vegas had held a playoff spot through the first five weeks, but a Week 6 loss knocked them out of the bracket and Week 7 pushed them down further. Week 8 at least stopped the slide. The Raiders moved up one place after leapfrogging Baltimore, and the Ravens’ quarterback situation only figures to make things tougher for them.
At the top of the conference, Buffalo benefited from a bye week while Kansas City lost, allowing the Bills to move back into the No. 1 spot. Denver also made a statement by beating the Chiefs and taking back control of the AFC West. Pittsburgh stayed steady with a win over Cleveland, and Jacksonville looked every bit like a team ready to separate from the pack after a 42-7 rout of Indianapolis.
Kansas City has now dropped two straight, though a softer stretch is coming. Cincinnati needed overtime to escape Tennessee, which raises questions about how real the Bengals are, even if their schedule doesn’t offer many easy answers before the postseason. New England also squeaked by Miami, but the Patriots are headed into a brutal run and already own the tiebreaker over the Raiders.
Cleveland is showing some signs of life, and with Deshaun Watson out this week, Shedeur Sanders will take over. Baltimore, meanwhile, is in rough shape without Lamar Jackson or Tyler Huntley.
Houston is the one team near the bottom that still has some upside because of its talent, but the Colts, Jets, Dolphins, Titans and Chargers are all sliding in one direction. The Jets, Dolphins and Titans can at least fight, while Indianapolis is tearing things down and Los Angeles, if the blowouts keep coming, may need to do the same.
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Raiders Still Have One Problem That Could Ruin Their AFC West Push
The Raiders finally got a much-needed break with a close win over the Jets after snapping their losing streak, but the bigger AFC West picture still looks messy. Around the division, the Chargers have been uneven, the Broncos have had their own issues, and the Chiefs remain the standard, which means Las Vegas cannot afford to waste any momentum if it wants to stay in the race.
Even with that win, the defense remains the concern hanging over everything. The Raiders have been giving up points at an alarming rate, and until that side of the ball shows it can hold up for four quarters, every promising stretch on offense comes with a warning label. In a division where small margins matter, that kind of leak can undo a lot of progress fast. [Read more 🡒]
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For Raiders fans, the more important part is where Crosby seems to stand now. He has made clear hes committed to Las Vegas and believes in where the team is headed, which matters for a franchise trying to build around a core piece who still looks like one of its most important players. Even with outside noise swirling, Crosbys message pointed back to the Raiders and to the possibility of what comes next. [Read more 🡒]
Raiders Midseason Free Agency Decisions Are Starting To Get Uncomfortable
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Tre Tucker and Matt Gay stand out as the clearest names in the keep-and-invest category, while the other end of the list is where the tension really starts to build. Some players are being viewed as stopgaps or as pieces the Raiders can move on from if the right young talent is ready to take over, which is exactly the kind of midseason roster conversation that can get awkward fast when a front office is trying to balance present needs against future flexibility. [Read more 🡒]