Tie and in the playoffs? Raiders, Chargers dismissive of alternate postseason paths

By Case Keefer (contact)

Thursday, Jan. 6, 2022 | 2 a.m.

The screens at Allegiant Stadium typically play NFL Red Zone and show highlights from around the league in the hours leading up to a Raiders’ home game.

Raiders quarterback Derek Carr may want to either request for that to be discontinued leading up to Sunday’s 5:20 p.m. kickoff against the Chargers or prevent himself from looking up at any time during warmups. He said on Wednesday that he didn’t want to know anything going on in other games, even the ones that affect his team’s own playoff chances.

“I think for me, (and) hopefully I speak for everyone, I’m not going to watch anything,” Carr said. “I hope all the TVs are off. I hope no one is watching and I hope our complete focus is on winning the football game. If we can keep that and someone comes up to me and says, ‘Hey, we’re in,’ it’s great but I still want to go out there and beat the Chargers.”

The Raiders (9-7) will likely need to avenge a Week 4 loss to the Chargers (9-7) to get into the postseason, but it’s not their only route to the NFL’s 14-team playoff bracket. Unlike Los Angeles, which must beat or tie Las Vegas to get in, the Raiders could clinch a spot before the game begins if the Ravens beat the Steelers and the Jaguars upset the Colts.

If Jacksonville beats Indianapolis, regardless of what happens in the Pittsburgh at Baltimore game, both Las Vegas and Los Angeles would reach the playoffs with a tie.

But the Raiders don’t want to “scoreboard watch,” and it’s not only Carr. When asked about the scenarios in his Wednesday news conference, interim coach Rich Bisaccia wondered aloud how a reporter had time to figure it all out.

“We’re going to look to put our best foot forward,” Bisaccia said. “We’re going to look to put a product on the field that all Raider Nation can be proud of. That’s kind of our focus right now.”

No one would expect a coach to say anything differently, and in the traditional spot where the result only matters to one side, sure, a team isn’t going throw the game to help an opponent. But the tie is what complicates this situation and has created so much discussion.

Reaching the playoffs is the first goal of every NFL team. It means a chance to win the Super Bowl along with millions of dollars to both the franchises and the players through postseason bonuses.

Theoretically, it wouldn’t be worth the risk for either team to play and fall out of the playoffs with a loss. But this might be one area where business doesn’t trump all, as both the Raiders and Chargers have shot down the possibility of playing for a tie.

“I think someone said we can just take knees and tie if that’s the scenario and I was like, ‘Well, that sounds good to you, but I don’t want to tie these guys either,’” Carr said. “So, for me, it will be full focus on beating the Chargers and I’m pretty confident that’s how our whole team feels no matter what. They beat us last time. We just want to play this game.”

Chargers coach Brandon Staley has challenged NFL conventions all year with his ultra-aggressive style on the field, which may make him seem more likely to embrace the tie on the surface. But he wasn’t interested when asked about it on The Rich Eisen Show earlier this week.

Staley referred to it as “an all-time coffee shop scenario” that he would have joked about with his friends in college.

“I think we all respect the game and the NFL shield and the integrity of this game far too much to be complicit in something like that,” he said. “This game matters too much to too many people, and we want to play our best and be proud of the result one way or another. We’re going to do everything we can to go win this game, and play the way we’re capable of playing. I hope all the fans and everybody who loves the NFL will be proud of the game on Sunday.”

Tickets to Chargers at Raiders are as expensive as any home game this season — starting at $310 on the secondary market as of Wednesday — and the coaches’ comments indicate fans can purchase them without the fear of not seeing a legitimate football game.

Staley at least acknowledged the tie-and-in wrinkle, while Bisaccia expressed ignorance.

“I don’t think I ever passed math, so I don’t even know what the hell you just talked about,” Bisaccia said. “All I know is we’re really excited about our opportunity that’s in front of us Sunday night.”

Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or