Sunday PM update: The Raiders beat the Chargers in overtime on Sunday night, giving them a ticket to the playoffs, while also helping the Steelers get into the playoffs. The Raiders will face the Bengals on Saturday.
Sunday update: The Steelers beat the Ravens and the Jaguars beat the Colts, which means the Raiders can tie with the Chargers and still make the playoffs. A win, of course, gets them in for sure, with a real chance to get the No. 5 seed if the Patriots or Bills lose.
The Las Vegas Raiders look to claim a playoff spot when they take on the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 18. The winner of this AFC West divisional matchup will advance to the playoffs. If the Raiders lose, they can still make the playoffs as the No. 7 seed, but they will need a lot of help from other teams.
The 9-7 Raiders took on the Chargers for the first time this season in Week 4. In that game, Los Angeles came away with a 28-14 victory. The Raiders head into this game on a three-game win streak against the Cleveland Browns, Denver Broncos and Indianapolis Colts. The Chargers are coming off a win against their Broncos but had lost their two previous games.
The Raiders are in their second season in Las Vegas and it would be the first time they have made the playoffs in their new home. Overall as a franchise, they last made the playoffs in 2016 when they lost to the Houston Texans in the Wild Card game. The last time that they made it past the Wild Card game was in 2002 and they went on to lose in the Super Bowl to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Relevant games impacting seeding for the Raiders include:
Chargers @ Raiders
Patriots @ Dolphins
Jets @ Bills
Colts @ Jaguars
Steelers @ Ravens
All seeding possibilities are broken down through NFLPlayoffScenarios.com.
How they can be No. 5 seed
- Raiders win + Patriots loss, OR
- Raiders win + Bills loss
How they can be No. 6 seed
- Raiders win + Patriots win/tie + Bills win/tie
How they can be No. 7 seed
- Raiders tie
How they can be eliminated from playoff contention
- Raiders loss