NFL week 17 early games open thread: Who Raiders fans should root for

The Raiders play the Broncos this afternoon but before that game, there are a few games that will be of interest to Raiders fans. Most notably, the games that involve the teams who are ahead of them in the draft order as it stands. Here are those games and why:

Jaguars at Colts - Raiders should be rooting for the Jaguars here. The Colts are in the playoffs but they still have something to play for. This means the Jaguars have little to no chance of winning. But if the Jaguars did win, the Raiders then have a shot to move up in the draft order. The Jaguars currently have the third overall pick with the same record as the Raiders (4-11) but a lower strength of schedule.

Browns at Steelers - Raiders should be rooting for the Browns here. Another tough hope but if the Browns could beat the Steelers, the Raiders would move up to the fourth overall pick. They have the same strength of schedule at the moment but the Browns have a worse conference record. They would likely remain ahead of the Raiders in the draft order should they lose today.

Ravens at Bengals - I'm guessing most Raiders fans would like to see the Chargers' playoff hopes dashed. A Ravens win would do just that.

Jets at Dolphins - Same thing applies here as with the Ravens game. If the Dolphins win, the Chargers are out. The Chargers play in the afternoon and by the time they kick off, they will know whether they are playing for pride or a playoff spot. How the Dolphins and Ravens play will decide which that will be.

The remaining morning games are the Panthers at Falcons, Texans at Titans, Lions at Vikings, and Redskins at Giants.

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