Are The Oakland Raiders For Real?

By MH
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Updated: November 10, 2016

The last time the Oakland Raiders played a playoff game George W. Bush was president of the United States, Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” was top of the Billboard Charts and there was no such thing as Facebook and Twitter.

Since then a reality television star with no political experience has been voted the President of the United States and the Chicago Cubs have actually won a World Series – proving that anything can happen in this world.

So, with that in mind, is this the year the Oakland Raiders finally end their absence from the NFL’s post-season? USFootballTips.com’s Leigh Copson weighs in!

Oakland have certainly suffered a massive hangover since losing Super Bowl XXXVII in January 2003. They have not had one single winning season since that defeat to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers – with back-to-back 8-8 seasons in 2010 and 2011 their best performances – and they are now on to their ninth head coach as they look to end the drought.

But it appears as though they may have finally find their man in Jack Del Rio. The former Jacksonville Jaguars coach turned a 3-13 team into a 7-9 outfit last season, and with nine weeks in the books in the 2016 season they have already won as many times as they did in 2015, going 7-2 to take top spot in the AFC West ahead of the defending champion Denver Broncos.

Last Sunday they recorded their biggest win of the season so far as Latavius Murray ran riot in a 30-20 win over the Broncos at the Oakland Coliseum. Sebastian Janikowski edged the Raiders in front with a couple of first-quarter field goals, but it was the Murray show from there as he rushed for 114 yards and three touchdowns to guide the team to what could be one of their most important victories this season.

That victory lifted them above Denver in the AFC West standings and it also improved their division record to 2-1 – which could be vital in their quest to reach the post-season with Denver and the Kansas City Chiefs hot on their heels at this time.

Oakland fans can be forgiven for getting excited about their team’s chances of finally making the post-season after such a big result and the bookmakers are certainly taking no chances as far as the Raiders are concerned. They may be behind Kansas City in the AFC West winner betting at this time, but they are now into +163 to take the crown and those odds may only shorten if they make a winning return from the bye week on Monday Night Football on November 21.

So can they really win the division? They do have four home games remaining and only one of them is against a team that currently boasts a winning record, but they face a very difficult task on the road with trips to Denver, San Diego and Kansas City on the cards. All three of those clubs have been very strong at home this season so while the Raiders are flying right now, you might want to keep that champagne or beer on ice for a little while longer.

However, three more wins could prove to be enough for a wildcard spot this season and after such a long absence from the post-season I am sure the Oakland Raiders would happily settle for that!