Oakland Raiders: Four Things That Must Happen Against The Giants

The Oakland Raiders are in control of their own playoff destiny, but to maintain that control, they’ll have to keep winning – here are a few things they must do this weekend to notch another win.

The Oakland Raiders, believe it or not, are in a very good position right about now. Despite being 5-6 on what has been a disappointing year, they are in control of their postseason destiny. They don’t need help from any other team in the AFC West to claim a division title and the playoff berth that goes with it.

But, if they want the AFC West crown and a second consecutive trip to the postseason, they’re going to have to do one thing – win.

They scored a win last week over division rival Denver, that for about three quarters was impressive. Though most discount it because for those three quarters, it was Paxton Lynch under center for the Broncos, it doesn’t take away the fact that for the game, Oakland notched five sacks and their first interception of the year.

Yeah, Trevor Siemian came in late and led a couple of long touchdown drives to cut the score to 21-14, and those are issues that will need to be addressed and cleaned up. But there doesn’t seem to be any question that the defense benefited from having John Pagano simplify things.

If the defense can play as effectively as they did against Denver, and the offense can find that next gear, that would all bode well for the Raiders down the backstretch of their season.

That starts with this week’s game against the Giants, a team that’s having plenty of its own inner-turmoil. For the Raiders to win this game and continue controlling their own destiny, a few things are going to need to happen…