NFL Playoff Picture: Will the Oakland Raiders Earn Improbable Berth?

As improbable as a playoff berth looked after a three-week stretch that saw the Oakland Raiders lose two games by a combined 50 points and then melt down in the final eight minutes while up 13 against the Detroit Lions, it's possible. The Raiders are still alive and have that chance in Week 17 of the NFL season.

Two things need to happen for the Raiders to sneak in as the AFC West champion:

• Raiders beat San Diego Chargers at home AND
• Denver Broncos lose to the Kansas City Chiefs at home.

The Raiders can also clinch a wild-card spot in the following scenarios:

• Raiders win, Titans lose, Bengals lose OR
• Raiders win, Bengals lose, Jets win.

After the Raiders' disastrous three-game stretch, what more can you really ask for?

The real question is whether the Raiders can pull off one of those scenarios to earn an improbable playoff berth? 

I'd say that the Raiders can forget about the second set of wild-card scenarios, because they're winning the AFC West in Week 17. 

That being said, it certainly isn't the easiest path.

The Chargers, despite a 28-point loss last week in Detroit, have played better over the second half of the season. A loss to the Raiders could all but shut the door on Norv Turner's time in San Diego, too, so there could be some extra fight in the Chargers for their coach.

However, don't forget that the Raiders went into Qualcomm in Week 10 and left with a win, while racking up almost 500 yards of total offense in the process. There's no such thing as a cakewalk in the NFL, but the Raiders should be expected to beat that same team at home.

That's only one-half of the equation, however. The Chiefs still have to beat the Broncos on the road, which is something I think Kansas City is more than capable of doing.

Despite not factoring in the playoff chase, motivation won't be an issue. Quarterback Kyle Orton certainly wants to show Denver that releasing him in favor of Tim Tebow wasn't the right move. Meanwhile, interim coach Romeo Crennel wants to give Chiefs management a reason to remove the word "interim" from his title.

Crennel's defense will be the difference. He put together a masterful game plan to beat the previously undefeated Green Bay Packers two weeks ago, and I'm sure he can come up with something—especially with his talented front seven—to stop Tebow. There's plenty of tape for Crennel to digest on Denver's gadget offense, too.

In the end, I think the Raiders do accomplish a mostly improbable scenario in Week 17. By Sunday night, the Oakland Raiders should have already stamped their ticket to the 2011 playoffs.