ALAMEDA -- As it stands right now, the Raiders are the No. 9 seed in the AFC playoff race with three games to play.Only the top six seeds gain entry into the Super Bowl tournament.Of course, it would seem the 7-6 Raiders' easiest path to the postseason would be to win out, against Detroit, Kansas City and San Diego, and hope for the 8-5 Denver Broncos to stumble along the way. Still, if the Raiders and Broncos ended the season with the same record, the Broncos have to lose to Kansas City in their season finale for the Raiders to win the AFC West division title on a tie-breaker.
In that scenario (the Raiders and Broncos finishing with the same record after Oakland beat both the Chiefs and the Chargers to close, while the Broncos fall to the Chiefs) the Raiders would be 4-2 in the AFC West, while the Broncos would be 3-3.Winning out would also help the Raiders' wild card possibilities, as it would give them a record of 10-6 and they already beat the current No. 6 seed, the New York Jets, so Oakland owns the tie-breaker in a head-to-head situation with the Jets.A look then, at the teams with which the Raiders are competing against for a playoff spot 13 games into the seasonNo. 4 seed
Denver Broncos (8-5)
Current AFC West record: 3-2
Remaining schedule cumulative record: 20-19
Opponents: vs. New England (10-3), at Buffalo (5-8), vs. Kansas City (5-8)No. 6 seed
New York Jets (8-5)
Current AFC record: 6-5
Remaining schedule cumulative record: 16-23
Opponents: at Philadelphia (5-8), vs. New York Giants (7-6), at Miami (4-9)No. 7 seed
Tennessee Titans (7-6)
Current AFC record: 5-4
Remaining schedule cumulative record: 13-25
Opponents: at Indianapolis (0-13), Jacksonville (4-9), at Houston (10-3)No. 8 seed
Cincinnati Bengals (7-6)
Current AFC record: 6-5
Remaining schedule cumulative record: 18-20
Opponents: at St. Louis (2-10), Arizona (6-7), Baltimore (10-3)No. 9 seed
Raiders (7-6)
Current AFC West record: 2-2
Current AFC record: 5-5
Remaining schedule cumulative record: 19-20
Opponents: Detroit (8-5), at Kansas City (5-8), San Diego (6-7)
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