Raiders vs. Chargers officially a play-in game, unless …
All other scenarios have been exhausted and the stage is officially set for an AFC Wild Card play-in game at Allegiant Stadium on Sunday night.
The winner of the game between the Raiders and Chargers will be in the playoffs. The loser will not.
There is a small caveat to think about ahead of the 5:20 p.m. kickoff.
A much-discussed scenario throughout the week involved a highly-unlikely situation where the Raiders and Chargers could play to a tie and both teams would get into the postseason.
It has fallen into place.
A loss by the Colts and an overtime victory by the Steelers means Pittsburgh will be in the playoffs as long as the Chargers and Raiders don’t play to a stalemate.
If the game does end in a tie, the Raiders and Chargers are in and the Steelers would be out.
Raiders’ interim coach Rich Bisaccia insisted a tie isn’t in his plans. Chargers coach Brandon Staley mostly did the same, but did leave the door open to playing more conservatively late in the game should a tie be on the table.
The Raiders could have made the playoffs before ever taking the field had the Ravens defeated the Steelers.
Indianapolis has officially been eliminated.
Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on Twitter.