Oakland Raiders' Playoff Chances Virtually Gone With Tennessee Titans, Pittsburgh Steelers Rolling

It looks like the Oakland Raiders will miss the playoffs for the third straight season and the 16th time in 17 years. The team hasn’t been officially eliminated from contention in the 2019 NFL season, but the Raiders need a minor miracle in order to make their way back into the playoff picture.

A 42-21 loss at home against the Tennessee Titans Sunday afternoon likely ended Oakland’s realistic postseason chances. As the Raiders were being beaten at home, the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the New England Patriots on the road to clinch their fourth consecutive AFC West championship.

With a division title out of the question, Oakland can only reach the postseason by winning an AFC wild-card berth. The Raiders trail the No.5 seed Buffalo Bills by three games. The No.6 seed Pittsburgh Steelers are two games ahead of Oakland. Tennessee has the same record as Pittsburgh with both teams vying for a playoff spot.

One more loss would mathematically eliminate the Raiders from playoff contention. Oakland has three winnable games left with upcoming matchups against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Los Angeles Chargers and Denver Broncos.

The Raiders have already beaten the Chargers and Broncos this season.

But even a three-game winning streak would almost certainly not be enough. Tennessee’s victory in Oakland gave them the tiebreaker over the Raiders. Just one victory in the final three weeks would ensure that the Titans finish ahead of the Raiders in the standings.

Maybe the Titans will overtake the Houston Texans in the AFC South. That doesn’t do Oakland much good, considering they lost in Houston earlier this season. The Texans are also two games ahead of the Raiders.

The Steelers host the Bills next, meaning one of the two potential wild-card teams is guaranteed to avoid a Week 15 loss.

The Cleveland Browns are technically ahead of the Raiders in the standings with a 6-7 record of their own. Cleveland currently has the tiebreaker because of a better conference record. Oakland is only 4-5 against AFC teams.

Oakland controlled its own destiny after winning six of its first 10 games. A subsequent three-game losing streak has since derailed what looked like a promising season.

The Chiefs, Titans and New York Jets have outscored the Raiders 116-33 over the last three weeks.

FanDuel Sportsbook gives Oakland 39/1 odds to make the playoffs.