The playoff scenarios for the Raiders still makes them a bit of a long shot to make the postseason. But that was the case this past weekend and everything ell their way, so who knows what could happen.
Regardless of what happens around the rest of the league, the Raiders must take care of business and beat the Broncos in Denver to do it. That task would be that much more difficult should they go into the game without key starters.
There are two starters on each side of the ball whose status is up in the air right now. On offense it’s running back Josh Jacobs and left guard Richie Incognito. On defense it’s cornerbacks Trayvon Mullen and Lamarcus Joyner. Mullen in particular was a big question mark after he was carted off the field Sunday and taken to the hospital.
“We’re still in the process of getting all the information from the trainer,” Jon Gruden said of the various injuries on the team. “There is a chance Josh Jacobs could play, [Richie] Incognito is still questionable. We got really good news on Trayvon Mullen. He’s got a chance to play this week. So does Lamarcus Joyner. Again, I won’t update the exact nature of their injuries until I get further notice from [head trainer H] Rod Martin.”
It’s likely that the Raiders will not be eliminated before they take the field next Sunday in Denver, and that means the Raiders won’t be resting any players or setting their sights for the offseason. They’ll be approaching this game with their sights set on pushing for the postseason.
“We’re going to play the best players that we have available to try to win the game,” Gruden continued. “We don’t have enough bodies to rest players, so we’re going to try to win the game in spite of the circumstances.”
There is no practice on Wednesday this week. The Raiders had a walk-thru Monday and will get Christmas day off and return Thursday to prepare for the Broncos.