Raiders' Rooting Guide for NFL Playoff Implications of Week 16 | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors

Any playoff permutations involving the Raiders must involve the Bills losing.

Buffalo holds a head-to-head win over Las Vegas from Week 2, and as long as it stays in contention for the No. 7 seed, the Raiders are in a tough spot.

Putting faith in the Bills' Week 16 opponent is difficult, though, because the Los Angeles Chargers are in shambles right now, as the Raiders saw firsthand in Week 15.

Las Vegas has to hope the Brandon Staley firing inspired the healthy players on the Chargers roster to be competitive at home on Saturday night.

If not, Buffalo could run away with its third straight win and move to 9-6 with the New England Patriots next on the schedule in Week 17.

The path to the No. 7 seed has to look somewhat reasonable for the Raiders, but it will seem closed off if the Bills, Bengals and Cleveland Browns win in Week 16.

The Raiders need four teams in front of them to lose. The Colts can fall in Atlanta and there are two wild-card matchups between the Browns and Texans and Bengals and Steelers. A Bills loss combined with a Colts defeat would fit the ideal scenario for the Raiders so they have a chance to gain playoff momentum on Monday.