The Las Vegas Raiders might have let any chance they had of reaching the NFL postseason slip away Thursday night. The Raiders were defeated by the Los Angeles Chargers in overtime, falling even further out of the 2020 AFC playoff picture.

Quarterback Derek Carr left Thursday's game with a pulled groin that could potentially sideline him for the rest of the season. Marcus Mariota threw for 226 yards and added 88 yards on the ground as Carr's replacement, but it wasn't enough to hold off Justin Herbert and Los Angeles.

While not technically eliminated yet, the Week 15 matchup was a game Las Vegas had to have. With two games left on their schedule, the Raiders are two games in the loss column out of the final wild-card spot. The rest of the postseason contenders have three games remaining.

FiveThirtyEight’s prediction model gives Las Vegas a 2% chance of making the playoffs. In addition to winning their final two games, the Raiders need some help from opponents of the Miami Dolphins and Baltimore Ravens.

Miami and Baltimore both head into Sunday with an 8-5 record, putting them ahead of the 7-7 Raiders. The Dolphins are the No. 7 seed with the tiebreaker over the Ravens.

Las Vegas hosts Miami in Week 16 in a must-win game for the Raiders. They’ll visit the Denver Broncos in the season finale.

The Raiders likely need to jump both the Dolphins and the Ravens in the standings in order to earn a wild-card spot. Baltimore is a heavy favorite over the Jacksonville Jaguars Sunday. The Ravens could be big favorites over the New York Giants and Cincinnati Bengals in their final two games.

The Dolphins host the New England Patriots Sunday and visit the Buffalo Bills in Week 17.

Las Vegas would need the Cleveland Browns to lose each of their final three games in order for the Raiders to catch them. That’s probably not going to happen since Cleveland faces the winless Jets in Week 16.

Earlier in the season, the Raiders were among the favorites to reach the playoffs with six victories in their first nine games. Las Vegas’ defense has been responsible for the team’s collapse, allowing an average of 36 points over the last five games.

The Raiders are eliminated from contention in the AFC West.

Derek Carr Las Vegas Raiders
Quarterback Derek Carr #4 of the Las Vegas Raiders reacts out of bounds after suffering a groin injury on a third-down run against the Los Angeles Chargers in the first half of their game at Allegiant Stadium on December 17, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
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