The Raiders still have a chance at the playoffs.
And while that’s news to a lot of people, that includes a number of people who work for the Raiders.
Peter King of NBC’s Football Morning in America spells out the specifics, which included five particular results on Sunday falling their way (check, check, check, check, and check), and the four more they need this week (a Raiders win at Denver, a Titans loss at Houston, a Steelers loss at Baltimore, and a Colts win at Jacksonville).
“No one thought we’d be playing for the playoffs in Week 17, let’s be real,” quarterback Derek Carr said.
That apparently extends to co-workers, as radio voice Brent Musburger knew the odds were long.
“So today was a longshot, such a longshot that there were people in the Raiders organization who didn’t know the team still had a playoff chance,” Musburger said. “If you put down $20 on this five-team parlay, you’d have won $500. Right now, it’s impossible to negotiate specific odds until we hear from John Harbaugh about how he’s going to play the game next Sunday against Pittsburgh. If he sits Lamar Jackson, the Steelers will be the favorite. . . .
“Well, it’s pretty crazy. It took a five-team parlay this week to get to a four-team parlay next week.”
Perhaps since the NFL has embraced the city best known for sports gambling (and all the public money thrown the Raiders way), it’s fitting that this longshot still has a chance to come in.