Silver Minings: Week 13 AFC Wild Card standings

For the second year in a row, after everyone counted the Las Vegas Raiders out, they’ve managed to go on a run with their third consecutive win against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 13. So, as promised, we’ll shift away from the NFL Draft and back to the AFC playoff picture with the Raiders moving to 5-7.

AFC Wild Card Standings:

5. Cincinnati Bengals 8-5 (3 games ahead of LV)

6. Miami Dolphins 8-5 (3 GA)

7. New York Jets 7-5 (2 GA)

8. New England Patriots 6-6 (1 GA)

9. Los Angles Chargers 6-6 (1 GA)

10. Las Vegas Raiders 5-7

11. Cleveland Browns 5-7

12. Pittsburgh Steelers 5-7

Week 14 Schedule:

• Raiders @ Rams 3-9 TNF
• Browns @ Bengals
• Dolphins @ Chargers SNF
• Jets @ Bills 9-3
• Patriots @ Cardinals 4-8 MNF
• Steelers vs Ravens 8-4

Who we’re rootin’ for:

Three games are going to be pretty hard to make up with five weeks to play so Raider Nation can really focus on the third Wild Card spot. The good news for that is the Jets have to go to Buffalo and take on the conference-leading Bills, so Las Vegas can pick up some ground if they take care of business on Thursday night in Los Angeles.

Being three games back of the Dolphins also makes it even easier to root for them against the Chargers, as the Raiders do sit one game behind the team they just beat. We’ll also be hoping for a miracle in Arizona as the Cardinals are notoriously bad at home, but the Patriots have been a bit of a mess lately so there’s a chance.

In the AFC North, a Bengals win against the Browns and a Ravens win in Pittsburgh will give the Raiders some breathing room.

TLDR: Jets lose to Bills, Chargers lose to Dolphins, Cardinals beat Patriots, and Raiders beat Rams, Las Vegas is one-game behind New York for the third spot and tied with Los Angles and New England.

In other Raiders’ links:

• Lester Cotton to IR: the early-season starter is now likely done for the rest of the regular season.
• Celebrate with Josh Jacobs: the Raiders posted a video of yesterday’s post-game celebration and gave the controls over to the running back to deliver a message to the fans.
• What we learned against the Chargers: check out Bill Williamson’s takeaways from the fifth W of the season.
• Raiders open as 5.5-point favorites: they play better as underdogs though...