The Raiders weren't officially eliminated from playoff contention with their 30-27 overtime loss to the Los Angeles Chargers on Thursday night, but they might as well have been. At 7-7 with two weeks remaining, Las Vegas is going to require some incredible luck to qualify for the postseason.
The Raiders didn't drop in the AFC standings with the defeat, but that's not the problem. They needed to gain ground on the teams ahead of them, or at the very least, keep pace. That obviously did not happen, and if the Miami Dolphins (8-5) and/or Baltimore Ravens (8-5) win their Week 15 games, Las Vegas very well could be too far behind to catch up.
Remember, only the top seven teams in each conference qualify for the playoffs.
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Here's a look at the current AFC playoff picture:
- Kansas City Chiefs (12-1) -- Clinched AFC West
- Pittsburgh Steelers (11-2) -- Clinched playoff berth
- Buffalo Bills (10-3)
- Tennessee Titans (9-4)
- Cleveland Browns (9-4)
- Indianapolis Colts (9-4)
- Miami Dolphins (8-5)
- Baltimore Ravens (8-5)
- Las Vegas Raiders (7-7)
- New England Patriots (6-7)
- Denver Broncos (5-8)