There are various scenarios that land the Raiders in the playoffs, but all of them require a victory over the Chargers in the season finale.
Safety Michael Huff, who has missed the last two games with a strained hamstring, plans to be in the lineup to help them get that win. Paul Gutierrez of CSNBayArea.com reports that Huff said he wasn’t “going to miss this one” on Monday. Huff had never missed a game in his NFL career before missing four this season.
“This is a one-game season,” said Huff. “I’m going to go out there and play and give my all. I don’t really worry about if I play this week that I may injure it for the playoffs because if we don’t win, the playoffs won’t happen. This is a one-game season.”
The Raiders secondary has been hit hard by injuries this season and Huff’s absence helped the Lions and Chiefs make plays through the air in the last two games. Stopping the Chargers passing attack will be crucial to Oakland’s hopes on Sunday.
The outlook is less clear for other injured Raiders. Wide receiver Jacoby Ford told Steve Corkran of the Bay Area News Group that he hopes to play and plans to lobby the coaches to get on the field if he’s less than 100 percent come Sunday. Running back Darren McFadden, who has missed eight games this year, didn’t speak to the media on Monday.