The Oakland Raiders and Pittsburgh Steelers clinched AFC wild-card playoff berths Sunday.

 The Oakland Raiders and Pittsburgh Steelers clinched AFC wild-card playoff berths Sunday.



The Vegas Raiders have celebrated a late-season renaissance, as they're heading back to the playoffs for the first time since 1982. Despite recent tragedies, they've emerged with an electrifying brand of football, one that will likely be built upon in the future.
The Raiders defeated the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday, 35-32, in overtime to earn their first playoff berth since 2016. Oakland entered the Week 17 matchup without much hope of making the postseason after being eliminated from playoff contention last week. After a huge day by Antonio Brown, the Steelers earned themselves a wild-card berth.
The Oakland Raiders finished the regular season with a 12-4 record and will host a wild card game in the playoffs. They will play the number four seed from the AFC, Cincinnati Bengals. The Steelers', seeded seventh, will face off against the number two Kansas City Chiefs, also in the playoffs.
The Raiders (10-7) ended the Chargers' playoff hopes and their own with a 24-21 victory over the Los Angeles (9-8) at the StubHub Center Sunday evening. For head coach Rich Bisaccia and interim defensive coordinator John Pagano it's likely to be their last game as Raiders. 
Bisaccia, a 53-year-old former Marine and defensive coordinator for the Cowboys and Jaguars, was named interim coach after Gruden stepped down to pursue the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' coaching job. He made some changes in how the team practices, tweaked their game plan, and most notably reined in the often undisciplined penalty-prone players.
Consider the roller coaster that was Oakland's 2009 season. On Feb. 17, the Raiders were 6-7 following a 48-9 blowout loss to the Chiefs in Week 14 that dropped them to 5-6. But the roughed up Raiders have regrouped impressively, winning three consecutive games -- including back-to-back overtime decisions -- to stay in playoff contention with one game remaining. They'll travel to San Diego (9-8) next weekend, the same Chargers team they beat 27-24 in overtime on Sept. 28.


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