The Las Vegas Raiders have exactly one assignment this Sunday and it has nothing to do with pride, momentum, or meaningless late-season validation.
They must lose, the Raiders enter their Week 17 matchup against the New York Giants deadlocked at 2–13, with the No. 1 overall pick hanging in the balance. This isn’t tanking in theory this is tanking with clarity. Win, and the Raiders risk sabotaging the most important offseason opportunity the franchise has had in years. Lose, and Las Vegas controls its future. There is no gray area here.
The Stakes Could Not Be Clearer
The Raiders already lived this nightmare once. Last season, Antonio Pierce was effectively punished for winning a meaningless late-season game that dropped Las Vegas in the draft order and altered the franchise’s trajectory. That lesson should be burned into the walls at Allegiant Stadium.
Now the responsibility falls to Pete Carroll, a veteran coach with decades of experience navigating big-picture franchise moments. If anyone understands what’s at stake here, it should be Carroll.
This is not about “building culture.” This is not about “playing the right way.” It’s about securing the No. 1 pick period.
There is, however, a right way and a wrong way to lose. The Raiders absolutely cannot make fools of themselves in the process. That means no panic decisions and no alienating cornerstone players.
You do not send Maxx Crosby home. You do not shut down Brock Bowers, a Pro Bowl-caliber talent and one of the few bright spots in a lost season. Those are franchise pillars. You don’t disrespect them. You don’t insult the locker room’s intelligence. Or let the roster deficiencies which are very real do the work for you. Losing “naturally” is the assignment.
A Win Would Be Organizational Malpractice
Let’s be blunt: if the Raiders somehow find a way to win this game, it is an organizational failure at every level. Everyone involved would deserve to be fired. A victory would accomplish nothing except satisfying short-term egos while damaging long-term competitiveness. It would signal that the franchise still doesn’t understand how to manage its own future a mistake Raiders fans have watched play out far too often.
For One Day Only, Ignore the Motto
For one Sunday, forget the standard set by the late Al Davis. Ignore the iconic phrase that defines Raiders lore.
Don’t listen to “Just win, baby.”
Do the opposite. Just lose, baby. Because if the Raiders can’t get this right when the math, the standings, and the stakes are this obvious then the real problem isn’t the roster, the coaching staff, or the quarterback situation. It’s the organization itself.
Maxx Crosby: “Yeah, I don’t give a sh– about the pick, to be honest.”
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Robert LaMar is a writer for Dice City Sports. You can follow him on X via @RobertLaMar26
