The Oakland Raiders are officially one of the worst teams in the NFL. At 3-8, they are tied for the third worst record in the league with only the 1-10 Kansas City Chiefs and the 2-9 Jacksonville Jaguars registering worse records at this point in the season. However, despite the poor record and even poorer play by the Oakland Raiders, they actually have a legitimate chance at recording 6 wins by the end of the season. The Raiders still have games against the Chiefs and Panthers left on their schedule, as well as a home tilt against the Cleveland Browns. As bad as the Raiders are, all three of those games are winable.
But that begs the question, should the Raiders even try to win those games? There is no hope of making the playoffs this season, and any pride the team had went out the door with any defensive skills the team had. Sure, putting up 6 wins would do a little in terms of limiting the embarassment of a terrible season, but trying to hide the results of this season by putting up 6 wins would be like trying to hide the odor from a skunk with a car freshener. At this point in the season, the Raiders would have to win out the remainder of their games if they wanted to head into the off season with anything worth building on. Even then, it would be hard to ignore how bad the Raiders played for most of the season.
So, if no real benefit can be gained from winning any number of games for the remainder of the season, only a negative can come from adding to the win column. Unlike in recent years, the Raiders actually have a first round draft pick in the 2013 NFL Draft, and considering how many holes the Raiders must address, they can really use a high first round pick. Since the Raiders have three games on their schedule against other bottom feeding teams, wins would go a long way towards pushing the Raiders' first round pick into the middle of the round as opposed to keeping it up top where the Raiders need it.
After the Indianapolis Colts showed how well their Suck for Luck campaign in 2011 has paid off, the Raiders should seriously consider whether or not they want to take on a "Bail for Barkley" strategy for the remainder of the 2012 season.