We enter Week 12 of the NFL season with the Raiders sitting at 6-4. That record doesn’t guarantee they’re on their way to a playoff run. After all, they were 6-4 at one point last season before fizzling down the stretch. But how they got that record very well could.
These first ten games have been no cakewalk for the Raiders. How tough has it been? Well, six of their ten games came against teams currently with at least seven wins. They beat all but two of them — Buffalo and Tampa Bay — going 3-3 in those games. They went 3-1 against all others.
Last week they played the Chiefs for the second and final time this season. Their first meeting game the Chiefs their only loss this season and they nearly did it again, falling 35-31 on a score in the final 30 seconds of the game.
For that reason, that game, and their 6-4 record hits different.
“There’s just something about this team; the teams we’ve lost to, how we’ve lost and things like that,” said quarterback Derek Carr. “The teams that we’ve played with and beat and things like that.
“We’re definitely a better team this year, but we right now have to, and I mean have to, finish this season better than we did last year. And I believe that we will. I’m hopeful and I believe that we will and I think that it’s different, I feel it’s different, but time will tell if it’s different.”
If the way the team has played thus far isn’t enough to make Carr and the Raiders feel better about their chances over the final six games, their schedule should.
According to Football Outsiders, the Raiders played the third toughest schedule by DVOA ratings over the ten games so far and have the third easiest schedule the rest of the way.
That beats itself out in the records of the teams they played and will play. Their opponents so far have a combined record of 62-37. Their opponents the rest of the way have a combined record of 23-37. Only two teams they still have to face currently have a winning record — the Colts (7-3) and Dolphins (6-4).
Even still, Jon Gruden is having none of this flowery talk. Last season’s 1-5 finish is clearly still a fresh wound and he has no interest in comparisons.
“I could (not) care less about 6-4. I just care what we do at the end,” said Gruden. “This comparing stuff is for ESPN analyst. Those days are in my past. We have a long way to go. We’re making progress. We’re making signs on offense and we’re showing some things on defense. We just have to play a lot better together. We have to keep building our franchise and keep working with these players and trying to get them to play and perform better and better and better. That’s all I can say, honestly.”
The Raiders went .500 against winning teams they’ve so far this season and .750 against losing teams. Should they keep that going, they would finish the season with a 4-2 record over the final six, giving them a 10-6 record. That’s a pretty sure bet for getting into the postseason as a wildcard.
Also if they keep playing the way they’ve been playing, not many teams will want to face them. Count the projected number two seed Chiefs in that group.
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