Can the Chargers or the Raiders make the NFL playoffs?
Though their chances of making the playoffs are slim, they do still have hope. The problem for the Chargers and Raiders is, it’s not entirely up to them.
Following their loss to the Denver Broncos on Sunday, the Los Angeles Chargers enter Week 15 with a 5-8 record which is to say they are all but eliminated from playoff contention. Can they find a way in? Let’s find out.
The Los Angeles Chargers are on the brink
If you caught our report earlier this week, then you will know that the Los Angeles Chargers quarterback, Justin Herbert, has unfortunately seen his season brought to a premature end by the need for surgery on his right index finger. Indeed, the 25-year-old fractured his finger during the team’s frustrating 24-7 loss to the Denver Broncos last Sunday. This is all to say that Herbert’s absence will undoubtedly make an already difficult task much more so. To make matters even worse, the Chargers will be facing another team that needs to win in order to keep its postseason hopes alive, the Las Vegas Raiders.
To be clear, projections indicate that the Chargers have a 1% chance of making the playoffs which is to say things couldn’t be much worse. With four games remaining including the above-mentioned clash with the Raiders, the Chargers are looking at an extremely difficult task. Following their game in Las Vegas, they will then have to face the Bills at home, before going on the road once again to take on the Broncos, the team they just lost to. Then, they will close out the season by hosting the defending Super Bowl champions, the Kansas City Chiefs. It’s important to understand that even if the Chargers manage to win all of their games, they will still require results to go their way in other games around the league. Like we said at the start of this, it’s not entirely in their hands.
OK, but what about the Las Vegas Raiders?
At 5-8, the Las Vegas Raiders, like the Chargers whom they will face on Thursday night, have a slim chance of making the playoffs this year. Needless to say, the first step toward that goal would be to put the dismal 3-0 defeat that they suffered at the hands of the Minnesota Vikings behind them and then win. To be honest, dismal does not begin to describe that loss. Nonetheless, there is still a chance, but again like the Chargers, the team is going to need a lot of things to go its way in other games. If the Raiders do have one thing going for them, it’s that they maintain the tiebreaker over the New York Jets, something that could definitely come in handy now that Zach Wilson has started to play ball. Indeed you can read more about the general playoff picture here. At any rate, what remains true is that the team must now win all of its remaining games if it has any hope of making the playoffs.