Just Win, Baby: Oakland Raiders Can't Afford to Worry About Broncos This Weekend

The race for the final two AFC playoff berths is a bit of a cluttered mess heading into the final week of the season, with the Raiders and Denver Broncos still alive for the AFC West Division title (and Oakland still alive for a Wild Card berth) and the respective fanbases of each team preparing for a crazy Sunday, which will clear up all the uncertainty.

The Raiders will need a win against the San Diego Chargers in Oakland, and a loss or tie by the Broncos at home vs. Kansas City, to win the AFC West. If the Broncos beat the Chiefs, they can still get in through the wild card, but they will need a lot of help. A Raiders win combined with a Cincinnati Bengals loss and a Tennessee Titans loss or tie gives Oakland the Wild Card. A Raiders win, combined with a Bengals loss and Jets win, would also propel the Raiders into the playoffs via the final Wild Card berth.

The scenarios may seem complicated, but the one constant is this: Oakland must win on Sunday vs. San Diego. If the Raiders don't take care of business against the Chargers, whatever happens in Denver, Cincinnati or Houston (where the Titans will take on the Texans) will not matter.

As they prepare for the biggest game the Raiders organization has played in 10 years, the temptation is to dwell on the different possibilities that could land Oakland in the postseason. However, as head coach Hue Jackson said earlier this week, he's not getting caught up in the playoff speculation:

"We can't control what happens in Denver or back east. We have to control what we can control, which is being prepared to play a Chargers team that's going to come in here and try to beat us."

For most of the personnel on the Raiders roster, Sunday's contest against San Diego is the most important game they ever played wearing the silver and black. The Raider faithful hope Jackson and the rest of the coaching staff have them prepared and focused to "just win, baby."