Raiders grapple with seeing rest of AFC West in playoff race

Paul Gutierrez, ESPN Staff Writer
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HENDERSON, Nev. — There is a wide divide in the AFC West between the haves and the have-nots.

And the chasm has the very real potential to grow even wider Friday (3 p.m. ET, Prime Video) with the Las Vegas Raiders (2-9) at the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs (10-1).

Were the season to end today, the Chiefs, Los Angeles Chargers (7-4) and Denver Broncos (7-5) would all be in the playoffs, while the Raiders would hold the No. 2 pick in the 2025 NFL draft.

If they lose to the Chiefs, the Raiders are one defeat away (to the Chargers on the season’s final weekend) from going 0-6 in division play. The last time they went winless in the division? 2006.

And what did the Raiders get for those troubles? JaMarcus Russell.

Raiders coach Antonio Pierce inhaled deeply when asked what he saw when looking at the rest of the AFC West.

“They’re winning,” he said after a short pause. “Quarterback play, bottom line. Quarterback play.”

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“We were bringing the house at [Nix],” Pierce said. “Very first play of the game, we came after him. At the end of game, we [were] coming after him. The kid never flinched. Didn’t blink.

“You watch [Chiefs QB] Patrick Mahomes [film] … it’s 27-27 and he’s running the ball. Looked like he was going to go out of bounds and steps up and goes another 20 yards. And then you look at [Chargers QB] Justin Herbert, right? Because you see these guys and, really, the quarterback play with the other three teams, to me, is the biggest difference.”

To be fair, Pierce was not taking a shot at his own quarterbacks.

But to be fairer, Gardner Minshew, Aidan O’Connell and (o a lesser degree) Desmond Ridder don’t exactly fit into the AFC West’s Holy Trinity of signal callers, either.

“I mean, that’s the elephant in the room,” said Raiders cornerback Jack Jones, referencing Mahomes, a two-time NFL MVP, Herbert, a one-time Pro Bowler, and Nix, starting to make noise as a potential league offensive rookie of the year.

“You can’t ignore that. So it is what it is.”

A quick timeline, then …

Minshew, signed to a two-year, $25 million free agent contract with $15 million guaranteed in March, beat out returning starter O’Connell in training camp. Yet after an uneven start, Minshew was benched in favor of O’Connell after five games.

But in O’Connell’s second start, at the Los Angeles Rams, he suffered a broken thumb on his right passing hand and two days later, the Raiders signed Ridder off the Arizona Cardinals’ practice squad.

Minshew returned and started the Raiders’ next four games but then he suffered a season-ending broken collarbone late in Sunday’s loss to the Broncos.

So with O’Connell coming off injured reserve, all signs point to him starting at the Chiefs, so long as his thumb cooperates.

But can he assist the Raiders in closing that gap in the division as he did last season, helping lead the Raiders to a 20-14 upset win at Arrowhead Stadium on Christmas Day? And yes, we realize O’Connell did not complete a pass after the first quarter.

Still, the widening divide between the trio of the Chiefs, Chargers and Broncos goes beyond quarterback play, no?

Well, the Raiders also have the worst running attack in the NFL (74.6 rushing yards per game) as well as the fewest takeaways in the league (5) and the worst takeaway differential (-17).

Plus, the Raiders, who traded three-time All-Pro receiver Davante Adams to the New York Jets in October, have been missing as many as six projected defensive starters, the likes of defensive end Malcolm Koonce, cornerbacks Nate Hobbs and Jakorian Bennett and safety Marcus Epps.

Yeah, that seven-game losing streak is their longest such skid since Derek Carr and Khalil Mack were rookies for the then-Oakland Raiders.

“I’m always pissed off when we don’t win,” said running back Ameer Abdullah. “What’s that, eight straight, seven straight? If you’re comfortable with that, then you shouldn’t be here.

“The game of football, at the NFL level, your freaking resume is always out there. We can’t pack it … because that’s when real bad ball can start happening then. … I expect everyone to do the hell out of their job this week to give ourselves a chance against Kansas City.”

Another statistical outlier for these Raiders of the lost art of winning?

Three-time Pro Bowl edge rusher Maxx Crosby is riding a four-game sack-less streak, his longest since going eight straight games without a sack in 2021.

“And I feel like I’ve been rushing my best,” Crosby said. “That’s just how it goes sometimes and that’s part of the game.”

Crosby, who has been hampered by an ankle injury since Week 2 and missed a game, still leads Las Vegas with 6.5 sacks.

“If you’re not playing to win, then what are we doing?” Crosby said. “I don’t play to get a better [draft] pick. That doesn’t even register in my brain.

“You see us flying around. We’re playing our ass off. There’s nothing else you can do.”

Other than, of course, try to close that gap in the division. And not just for this season.

As Pierce said, without throwing in the towel, there are great opportunities for players to make closing impressions.

“What do the 2025 Raiders look like, and are you a part of that?” Pierce said. “There’s going to be changes made, as it is every year in the offseason for every team, and I think it’s important for these guys to put their best foot forward. Really, for all our players, myself included and staff, to show that we’re fighting.

“There’s no give and no tanking. None of that B.S. that’s being said. Hell, we’re trying to win every game possible. If we can win six in a row, we’ll win six in a row.”

That would help the Raiders inch closer to the haves, no?

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Raiders grapple with seeing rest of AFC West in playoff race

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