The Oakland Raiders have a critical matchup against the Detroit Lions on Sunday. A win could tighten the title race in the AFC West.
The first half of the 2019 season has looked relatively average for the Oakland Raiders. They have scored an average of 21.6 points per game, but they’ve also allowed an average of 27.4. Derek Carr is entering Week 9 with a QB rating of 103.6, with 11 touchdowns and five interceptions on the year. Oakland is also coming off back-to-back road losses to the Green Bay Packers and the Houston Texans.
This week, the Raiders have an opportunity to lift themselves to .500. And right now, that’s an opportunity they can’t afford to pass up.
Despite their average play, Oakland currently sits in the No. 2 spot in the AFC West, 1.5 games behind the Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs haven’t looked as miraculous as they did in 2018, and heading into a difficult Week 9 matchup against the Minnesota Vikings, Kansas City may be missing a critical player: Patrick Mahomes. If Kansas City loses this week, they will drop to 5-4: just half a game ahead of Oakland.
If you look at the matchup on paper, Oakland should beat the Detroit Lions on Sunday. Carr is playing well and his offense is putting up a lot of points. Detroit, by comparison, has allowed more yards per play than any other defense in the league. Oakland has faced three of the top ten defenses in the league in terms of points allowed per game and won two of those three matchups. Detroit ranks 26th in points allowed per game.
But Oakland’s defense has been a liability for them this season. The Raiders rank 28th in points allowed per game. Meanwhile, the Lions offense is putting up an average of 25.7 points each week. Most people predict their matchup will be a high-scoring affair.
If Oakland wins this game, it will stay in the hunt for a playoff spot either as the winners of the AFC West or potentially as a wild card team. The Kansas City Chiefs went all the way to the AFC Championship in the 2018 season and they were one of the Super Bowl favorites at the beginning of this year. But they have accumulated almost as many losses in the first half of this season as they did in the entirety of the 2018 regular season. They have dealt with some serious injuries, including a knee issue for QB Patrick Mahomes. They are vulnerable and the Raiders have an opportunity to take advantage and make the AFC West a competitive division.
At 3-4– potentially 4-4 after a win over the Lions– the Raiders also have a chance at snatching an AFC Wild Card slot. Currently, the AFC playoff picture is tight. Every team other than the undefeated Patriots are either 5-2 or 5-3. All the top teams in the hunt are either 4-4 or 3-4. Oakland currently ranks as the 10th seed in the AFC– a win this week could put them right on the edge of a playoff spot.
Following their matchup against the Lions, the Raiders will host the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 10 and the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 11. The Chargers are 3-5 and will face the Green Bay Packers in Week 9. The Cincinnati Bengals are still winless and benched QB Andy Dalton in favor of rookie QB Ryan Finley ahead of their bye-week. All three of these teams are vulnerable and the Raiders will have homefield advantage. If they can win at least two out of these three, suddenly they are sitting at 5-4 and potentially in the No. 1 spot in the AFC West.
The Oakland Raiders haven’t won the AFC West since 2002. And they have been an AFC Wild Card team just once since then (2016). The loyal fans in Oakland deserve something in their last season before the Raiders move to their new home in Las Vegas. And Oakland has the pieces to make that happen.
The Raiders have an average opponent this week. This is their chance to prove they are something more than that.
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