Prior to the Week 10 action, the Las Vegas Raiders were stuck in a logjam.
Heading into their bye, the Raiders were one of nine teams sitting on just two wins. The race for the number one pick featured numerous contenders, some with similar needs to the Raiders and some not. With the Raiders unable to control their own destiny this week, they needed some help to ensure some improvement in terms of draft position.
In that regard, last week must have felt like an answered prayer.
The good news started early in the morning for the Raiders, when two teams above them in the draft order in the Carolina Panthers and New York Giants squared off in Munich. After the Panthers won 20-17 in overtime, it resulted in one less team for the Raiders to contend with.
Throughout Sunday, the good news continued to roll in. The New England Patriots embarrassed the Chicago Bears 19-3, pushing the Patriots above the Raiders and forcing the Bears to fire offensive coordinator Shane Waldron. The New Orleans Saints would pull off a 20-17 upset victory over NFC South rival the Atlanta Falcons, giving interim head coach Darren Rizzi his first career win at the helm. Finally, on Monday night, the Miami Dolphins triumphed over the Los Angeles Rams 23-15 to move down in the order, as well.
With four of seven two-win teams (the Cleveland Browns were also on their bye week) winning their Week 10 games, the Las Vegas Raiders have moved up to the fifth selection in the draft. Due to the Giants and Jacksonville Jaguars having eight losses, the Raiders sit only half a game back from one of the top two positions in the draft.
It goes without saying that it is difficult to envision the Raiders losing every game the rest of the way, and the team will certainly aim to prevent such a disastrous outcome. That being said, the competition for the number one overall pick thinned out quite considerably, and the Raiders did not even have to lift a finger to do it.
