In a year that has been filled with so many ups and downs for the Las Vegas Raiders, they’ve still managed to be in the hunt to potentially win the AFC West. You’re always going to have a chance with Derek Carr as your starting quarterback. With that said, the Las Vegas Raiders division odds dove with their latest loss to the Washington Football Team in Week 13.
It goes without saying, but Las Vegas blew it at home going up against Washington at Allegiant Stadium in Sin City. The Raiders were favorites entering this one, but Washington indeed traveled to Vegas and was able to walk away with a stunning road win. Washington used a balanced attack on offense to keep them in the game. At the end of play, they were able to walk away with a 17-15 win.
This one really stung for the Raiders. They were up late, but a Washington field goal with less than a minute left sealed the win for them. Offensively for Las Vegas, they just couldn’t get into any kind of a rhythm from start to finish. Carr tossed for 249 yards, but he wasn’t able to toss any touchdowns. That’s not something folks are used to seeing from him.
As for the ground game, Josh Jacobs did a fine job finding open holes, as he rushed for 52 yards and a touchdown on only 13 carries. Still, the Raiders should have given him more carries. For the team to only score 15 points at home against Washington was inexcusable. It proved to cost them big time too, as with the loss the Raiders are now 6-6 on the season.
The Kansas City Chiefs went on to dominate the Denver Broncos, and KC is now 8-4 on the year. With the Chargers at 7-5, LV is in third place of the division. Per the best-rated online sportsbooks, the Raider now hold a disappointing +3700 Vegas football odds to win the division, which is the worst of all the teams in the AFC West. It wasn’t too long ago they were right in the hunt, but things have surely changed.
With the Raiders currently on the outside looking in for the playoffs, things are only going to get more complicated for them in Week 14. That’s because the Raiders are big underdogs this weekend against Kansas City over at Arrowhead. It’s going to be quite an uphill battle for the Raiders to hit the road and try and take down the Chiefs, especially with KC playing at such a high level.
While Patrick Mahomes has received plenty of negative comments this year, he’s really looked strong in recent games. The good news for him too is that Clyde Edwards-Helaire is back from his knee injury. Yes, Darrel Williams did a great job in filling in for CEH, but Edwards-Helaire really brings a different kind of speed to the Kansas City offense. This is bad news for Las Vegas.
For the Raiders, they’ll be hoping that Darren Waller can get back on the field himself to make players for Carr. The superstar tight end has been battling a knee injury and missed action. The hope is that he can get in some practice this week and then give things a go on the road against Kansas City. If Waller can’t play, it’s going to make life tougher for Carr and the offense.
Right now, Kansas City holds -450 odds to win and Las Vegas has been placed at +350. You can make wagers via the best NFL betting sites, but if you’re a Las Vegas supporter, you’re probably not hopeful that the Raiders will be able to get the job done. They’re near desperation mode. A win could really help their postseason odds alive, but things aren’t looking too promising.
Speaking in terms of NFL playoff odds as a whole, the Raiders need some help to make the postseason. That’s because with three AFC Wild Card spots up for grabs, the Chargers, Bengals and Bills are currently in those spots with their 7-5 records. With the Raiders at 6-6, they’ll need to record some big wins to close out the season to try and catch up to the others.
With that said, a loss to Kansas City is only going to make things even more difficult for the Raiders. Should Las Vegas go on to close this weekend and fall to 6-7, they’ll keep sliding in the Wild Card hunt. That would mean that Las Vegas would need to close out the regular season on a winning streak to keep their playoff hopes alive. Life really would have been simpler had they beat Washington.
Having said that, you really don’t know what will happen to close out the year. Who knows, maybe Cincinnati, Buffalo and others will choke and open the door for Las Vegas to jump in. Regardless of that, Carr needs to step things up and hope his teammates join him. This team is too good to miss out on the playoffs, and fans will be frustrated if that ends up happening.
