NFL News: Las Vegas Raiders Look to Rebound in Week #6
Las Vegas Raiders Josh Jacobs (#28) and Foster Moreau #87)

The 2022 season started disastrously for the Las Vegas Raiders. Their 1-4 record is the worst opening to a season since 2018. However, there are some signs that they could be recovering their form, so what are the chances of the Raiders reaching the playoffs in two consecutive seasons for the first time in a couple of decades?

How the Season Has Started

Hopes were high after the 2021 season saw the Raiders reach the Wild Card round before crashing out in a 26-19 defeat by the Cincinnati Bengals. This means they’d gone 19 years without a playoff win, but their offseason moves led to growing confidence that they could go further in 2022 than the year before. In particular, the move to take Davante Adams from the Green Bay Packers and make him the highest-paid wide receiver in the NFL raised hopes of a more dynamic offense.

However, after the first undefeated preseason, the LA team lost the first three competitive games before finally picking up their first win, which came against the Denver Broncos. This was followed by another loss and a second victory, giving the team a 2-4 record at the time of writing. Yet, quarterback Derek Carr has spoken out about their training sessions’ positive feelings and excitement.

Fans are still more confident than their opening record would suggest because the losses have all been by narrow margins of no more than six points. In fact, with the difference of just one or two plays, the games could have all turned out in favor of the Raiders.

What Needs to Change?

The addition of Adams and the solid start for the season made by running back Josh Jacobs has led to the Raiders having a robust selection of offensive talent at their disposal.  However, defensive improvements are needed if they have a severe attempt at completing the rest of this season undefeated. Nate Hobbs’ broken hand doesn’t help, with the cornerback expected to miss up to four games following surgery for this injury, according to ESPN. Fans will be hoping to see 2022 recruit Chandler Jones producing the regular sacks we knew he could.

The chances of reaching the postseason stage appear slim, although the Raiders still have a chance of grabbing a Wild Card spot. QB Carr pointed out that they used their bye week to look honestly at themselves and see how they could improve as a team over the rest of the season. The fact that their next few games are against teams they should feel confident of being able to beat, hopefully, kick off a long winning streak to put them back on track.

Long Odds

The SBO website reviews the leading online sportsbooks, where we’ll find the Raiders at long odds to make the playoffs, let alone win the Super Bowl.

The Buffalo Bills are favorites to win the Super Bowl, followed by the Philadelphia Eagles, the Kansas City Chiefs, and the Dallas Cowboys. We need to go way down the list to find the Raiders, surrounded by teams like the Arizona Cardinals and the Tennessee Titans, with odds of up to 6000+.

The latest simulation results posted by the NY Times suggest that the recent win against the Houston Texans has boosted the Raiders’ chances of getting to the playoff stage from 16% to 19%, with this number has been as low as 10% when they completed the first three games of the season with three losses. With so many games still to be played, a lot can happen between now and when the playoff participants are defined.

There is still a chance the Raiders salvage this season and earn another shot at the postseason stage, but their early losses mean there’s now a tiny margin for error.