The Raiders have been one of the league’s most up-and-down teams this season. Some weeks, they look like legit contenders in the AFC. But in other weeks, they appear to be a team several years away from making a playoff run.
However, they looked really good in a primetime showing against the Cowboys in Week 12. The offense totaled over 500 yards and the defense came up with stops when they needed them.
Sitting at 6-5, they are right in the thick of things in the AFC playoff hunt. But where do they rank among the best teams in the league?
In the recent power rankings done by Nick Wojton of the Touchdown Wire, he had the Raiders moving up four spots to No. 15 after Week 12. Here is what he had to say about the Raiders after 11 games:
“The post-Jon Gruden bump seemed to have worn off but the Raiders are still alive. In a huge win, Las Vegas took down the Cowboys in overtime on Thanksgiving. The AFC postseason race just keeps getting more interesting, week-by-week.”
Considering how deep the AFC is right now, 15 seems about right. But if they can get a win at home when against the red-hot Washington Football Team on Sunday, it would not be a surprise to see them climb inside of the top-12 by this time next week.
For the Raiders to make the playoffs in the AFC, they’ll likely need to win four of their final six games. But the Raiders can’t look too far ahead. Instead, all they have to do is worry about beating Washington on Sunday and everything else will fall into place.
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