The Oakland Raiders needed a lot of things to happen to secure a wild card berth in the 2012 NFL Playoffs, but after the early morning games, such a scenario is out of the question. Oakland needed either the New York Jets to win or the Tennessee Titans to lose in the morning games for them to have a chance in the afternoon games to secure such a berth. They got neither, as poor quarterback play hurt them in both games.
On one end, the New York Jets were their usual selves, depending on quarterback Mark Sanchez to carry them to the win, which of course didn't happen. He threw three interceptions, which is par the course for him this year, as the Miami Dolphins won 19-17, but at least Rex Ryan didn't make the playoffs.
For the Titans, they weren't going to be denied by a Houston Texans team down to it's fourth quarterback. Rookie T.J. Yates was the guy going into the game, after the No. 1 and No. 2 players at the position were injured earlier in the season. He went down with an injury, and Jake Delhomme came into. You can guess how that went. Tennessee walked away with a win, and Oakland is eliminated from a wild card berth.
But they can still win the AFC West, and that starts with a win. In the afternoon games, they'll need to beat the San Diego Chargers at home, and they need the Denver Broncos to lose to the Kansas City Chiefs. If the Broncos win, then they win the division and the Raiders only get to be at the playoffs if they happen to buy tickets.