Raiders win keeps playoff hopes alive

In a crippled for which locating positives was astir arsenic hard arsenic uncovering a lukewarm spot to basal successful frigid Cleveland connected Monday, astatine slightest the Raiders had 1 happening going for them aft Daniel Carlson’s last-second 48-yard tract extremity beat the depleted Cleveland Browns 16-14.

Their playoff chances, which were connected beingness enactment erstwhile they boarded their level for Cleveland connected Sunday, went from bleak to inactive live by the clip they lifted backmost disconnected for Las Vegas.

Had they lost, astir each postseason anticipation would person been gone.

That is what was astatine involvement erstwhile the Raiders’ defence forced a three-and-out aft Derek Carr’s fourth-quarter interception seemingly enactment them successful dire straits.

“We recovered a way,” said antiaircraft extremity Maxx Crosby. “All you tin inquire for is giving DC a accidental to get america a dub.”

That is what was connected the enactment erstwhile Carr marched the discourtesy 41 yards into tract extremity scope to redeem himself from the interception helium threw conscionable 1 infinitesimal earlier.

That is what was saved erstwhile Carlson connected connected not one, but 2 48-yard tract goals to triumph the game. The archetypal was called disconnected aft the Browns got a timeout successful conscionable the nick of time. The 2nd fundamentally saved the Raiders’ postseason hopes.

For now.

The 7-7 Raiders went from 13th spot successful the AFC to 10th. Seven teams from each league marque the playoffs — the 4 part winners and 3 chaotic cards.

After Monday’s win, lone 1 crippled separates the Raiders from the 2nd and 3rd wild-card spots. They person 3 games remaining, 2 of which are against teams presently holding playoff spots successful the Indianapolis Colts and Los Angeles Chargers.

If they triumph retired — which seems improbable aft Sunday’s lackluster triumph implicit a Browns squad for whom COVID-19 protocols rendered 18 players, including starting backmost Baker Mayfield and backup Case Keenum, unavailable — their 10-7 grounds would enactment them successful a beardown presumption to unafraid a spot.

The Raiders are acold from perfect, and they look a formidable past agelong of games against the 7-7 Broncos, the 8-6 Chargers and the 8-6 Colts. But a expanse to extremity the play would springiness them a head-to-head tiebreaker borderline implicit the Colts, Browns, Steelers, Ravens and Dolphins, an 8-4 grounds successful the AFC and 3-3 successful their division.

It doesn’t precisely warrant them a playoff spot. But the likelihood would surely beryllium successful their favor.

“We’re 7-7. We are what our grounds is. We conscionable person to instrumentality it 1 astatine a time,” Crosby said. “This was a large measurement connected the road, nary substance what it is. We had immoderate guys out. They had immoderate guys out, and we got a win. We recovered a way. So we got Denver adjacent week. We request to fastener backmost in. We’ve lone got six days to recover. We’re excited astir the challenge.”

Contact Vincent Bonsignore astatine vbonsignore@reviewjournal.com. Follow @VinnyBonsignore connected Twitter.