The Oakland Raiders were presented with a huge opportunity to get back even with the Denver Broncos in the AFC West, and instead the Raiders stumbled and fumbled away a golden opportunity. The Raiders dropped a heart-breaking 28-27 defeat in a game they led 27-14 with under seven minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.
This defeat came as the Denver Broncos were handled with relative ease by the New England Patriots. The Broncos cut the lead to 11 late in the game, but could not overcome the explosive Patriots offense in a 41-23 Patriots victory. The Broncos drop to 8-6, but they maintain their one game lead over the Raiders.
The division has gotten even crazier thanks to the Kansas City Chiefs shocking upset of the Green Bay Packers. The victory leaves their faint playoff hopes alive as they improve to 6-8. While it is unlikely, the Chiefs can still win the division if they win out, the Broncos lose out and the Chargers fit a loss in there as well. It is kind of ridiculous to consider, but given how the AFC West has played this year, nothing would really be surprising.
The Raiders also blew a golden opportunity in the wild card race. The New York Jets were blown out by the Philadelphia Eagles to drop to 8-6. They are now tied with the Bengals and a game up on the Raiders and Titans. The Chargers can join that 7-7 mix if they can defeat the Ravens on Sunday Night Football.
Suffice to say, the AFC is a mess right now. The AFC West and AFC North division races remain up in the air and one of the two wildcard races is also up for grabs. Sunday Night Football between the Chargers and Ravens does not answer any questions, but in fact could simply add more.