With their loss to the 49ers last Sunday, the Raiders are officially out of the playoffs. Now the focus shifts to other priorities. Namely the draft.
As of now, the range the Raiders can land in is between picks 6-10. They would have to lose against the Chiefs and have a couple other games go their way to move up to six. But should they beat the Chiefs, they won’t fall farther than 10th.
While I don’t expect any Raiders fans to root for their team to lose to the Chiefs, so let’s just leave that one of the equation and look at the rest of the games and how you should be hoping it goes.
Rams over Seahawks
Rams currently hold the 6th overall pick. A win by them is Raiders only chance at that pick.
Falcons over Buccaneers
Falcons currently hold the 7th overall pick by virtue of Strength of Schedule. It’s a very slim lead, but it could hold. A win would end that conversation.
Panthers over Saints
Raiders also hold a very slim SoS lead for the 8th pick over the Panthers. Again, it may or may not hold after the finale, but a win by the Panthers would help.
Vikings over Bears
Chargers over Broncos
49ers over Cardinals
Texans over Colts
Why should you want these outcomes? Well, because the Raiders will be thinking QB high in this draft, so best that the teams not looking for a QB have higher picks.
The Bears, Seahawks (who pick for the Broncos), and Cardinals all have QBs in place. Losses would either move them up the draft order, or ensure they remain in the top five. Then they would either draft another position or be open to make a trade with the Raiders.
Meanwhile, the Texans winning would allow the Bears to move to the top pick. Though it would also mean the QB needy Colts would also move up, so, unless they acquire Derek Carr this offseason, that game result is less important.
Titans over Jaguars
Browns over Steelers
Jets over Dolphins
The Titans, Browns, and Jets all sit at 7-9 on the season. There is little chance, based on SoS, that the Raiders could fall below any of them, but best to hope for wins anyway, just to be safe.
Bills over Patriots
The only team that could can keep the Chiefs from getting the top seed in the AFC — and thus a first round bye — is the Bills. And a Patriots loss could knock them out of the playoffs. So, go Bills.
Ravens over Bengals
A Ravens win and a Chargers loss would drop the Chargers from the 5th to the 6th seed.
Commanders over Cowboys
Washington is out of the playoffs and a win would mean Daniel Snyder’s club gets a lower draft pick. That’s not a lot to move the needle, but it’s something.
Eagles over Giants
If the Eagles win, they clinch the top seed which keeps the 49ers from getting it and drops the Cowboys to the 5th seed. That just seems funny to me, so go Eagles.