Raiders at Broncos
The Raiders could be representing Oakland for the final time when they visit the Denver Broncos on Sunday and remarkably still have a chance to make the postseason as a wild card with a non-winning record. The Raiders kept their hopes alive with a 24-17 victory at the Los Angeles Chargers last week and face a scenario in which four outcomes - all reasonable - must occur for them to earn the No. 6 seed.
Oakland needs to defeat Denver and Indianapolis must win at Jacksonville while Pittsburgh and Tennessee lose at Baltimore and Houston. "No one thought we'd be playing for the playoffs in Week 17, let's be real," Raiders quarterback Derek Carr told Peter King after Oakland had several games fall its way just to get this final opportunity. There's a lot at stake for Denver, too, as rookie quarterback Drew Lock tries to lead the club to four victories in five games to end 2019, and he's already looking forward to the offseason. “I'm going to approach it like I'm the guy,'' Lock told ESPN about being the starting quarterback in 2020. "Once I took my first step out on the field as a starter, that was my mentality, I wasn't going to lose it, I was going to keep it, that was the mindset I had, that's the kind of guy I want to be for this place, that's the kind of guy this place deserves.''
TV: 4:25 p.m. ET, CBS. LINE: Broncos -3. O/U: 41
ABOUT THE RAIDERS (7-8): DeAndre Washington was a key cog last week filling in for rookie Josh Jacobs with a season-high 106 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown. Darren Waller, who is second in the league among tight ends with 1,038 yards and third with 84 receptions, is the first Oakland tight end to record 1,000 yards in a season since Todd Christensen in 1986. Rookie wide receiver Hunter Renfrow set season highs in yards (105) and catches (six) last week, and scored his third TD.
ABOUT THE BRONCOS (6-9): Lock - the first rookie in franchise history to win three of his first four starts - has completed 64.8 percent of his passes with six touchdowns and three interceptions, and appears to have all the tools to lead the franchise moving forward. “He’s done enough to show that he definitely could be the guy," coach Vic Fangio told reporters. "We’re looking for that to be the case.” Phillip Lindsay needs 42 yards to become the fourth player in franchise history to rush for 1,000 in each of his first two seasons.
EXTRA POINTS
1. Denver second-year WR DaeSean Hamilton recorded a career-high 65 yards on six catches and scored his first touchdown of the season last week.
2. Jacobs, who missed last week's game with a shoulder injury, had surgery to treat a skin injection on his leg Wednesday.
3. The Raiders prevailed at home 24-16 in Week 1 with Carr completing 22-of-26 passes for 259 yards and a touchdown.