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Sunday PM update: The Raiders beat the Chargers in overtime, punching their playoff ticket against the Bengals on Saturday. Las Vegas will be the 5-seed and take on the Cincinnati Bengals in the Wild Card round next weekend.
Sunday update: The Steelers beat the Ravens, which means the Raiders still need to win or tie to make the playoffs.
The Las Vegas Raiders will head into the final game of the NFL’s regular season with a spot in the playoffs on the line in their matchup with the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday Night Football in Week 18.
The Raiders have gone through so many issues with their organization during the 2021 season, and it’s impressive interim head coach Rich Bisaccia has been able to keep his team together for the most part.
Las Vegas has a few different scenarios in which they can reach the postseason, and the simplest avenue is to just beat the Chargers on Sunday.
Another scenario would require a tie and an Indianapolis Colts loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. This scenario is getting a decent amount of discussion because if Indianapolis loses, the Raiders and Chargers could agree to tie on purpose and both advance to the playoffs.
The last way the Raiders could qualify for the postseason is for the Colts to lose and for the Pittsburgh Steelers to lose or tie against the Baltimore Ravens.
Below is a look at the point spreads on DraftKings Sportsbook for games that could matter for the Raiders in Week 18.
- Raiders +3 vs. Chargers
- Colts -14.5 @ Jaguars
- Ravens -3.5 vs. Steelers
Las Vegas came into the 2021 season not expected to reach the postseason. DraftKings Sportsbook installed them at +350 to claim any kind of playoff berth this season.