Bills in unfamiliar territory in visit to Oakland (w/video)

OAKLAND — Sammy Watkins has been in Buffalo less than a year and is already tired of all the talk about the Bills' 14-season playoff drought.

'That's the stigma with Buffalo,' Watkins said. 'That's all you hear. They never talk about the four Super Bowls that they went to. All you hear about is the 14 years that they didn't go to the playoffs. It's bad and we know that as a team and an organization. We're going to fix it.'

It won't be easy. The Bills (8-6) likely need to win their final two games starting Sunday in Oakland against the Raiders (2-12) and then get lots of help.

Because of tiebreaking formulas, Buffalo ranks ninth out of the conference's nine teams with eight or more wins. Even with a win in Oakland, the Bills could be eliminated this week if Pittsburgh and Baltimore both win Sunday and Cincinnati defeats Denver at home Monday night.

But even being in contention this late in the season is an accomplishment for a team that has not made the postseason since 1999 and not finished with a winning record since 2004.

This marks the first time since 2006 that the Bills are still alive heading into Week 16. They squandered a fourth-quarter lead in a 30-29 loss to Tennessee that year and missed the playoffs.

They want to avoid a similar fate this week.

'We know the situation that we're in right now,' cornerback Corey Graham said. 'Pretty much if we don't win the game, we don't give ourselves a chance. It's pretty simple. You can't have a letdown when it's a must win for you.'

Oakland has the second-longest active postseason drought in the NFL, this being the 12th consecutive season without a playoff bid.

The Raiders are relegated to the role of spoiler, something they have done well at home the past few weeks. Oakland dealt a blow to Kansas City's playoff hopes with a 24-20 win last month and helped lead to San Francisco missing out on the postseason with a 24-13 win two weeks ago.

Now the Raiders want to do it to Buffalo.

'It's the last opportunity to play at home in front of our fans right now,' interim coach Tony Sparano said. 'We want to go out there, we want to play well. We want to win a football game against a good team out here.'

Some other things to watch when the Bills visit the Raiders:

DOMINANT D

The Bills bring one of the NFL's stingiest defenses led pass rushers in Mario Williams, Marcell Dareus and Jerry Hughes. Buffalo has allowed 50 points in winning three of the past four games. The past two weeks against Peyton Manning and Aaron Rodgers have been particularly impressive. The two star quarterbacks combined to complete 31 of 62 passes for 358 yards, no touchdowns and four interceptions the past two weeks.

ORDINARY O

Offense has been a different story for the Bills, who have scored only seven offensive touchdowns the past four weeks. Quarterback Kyle Orton has tailed off after providing a spark when he replaced E.J. Manuel, and the running game has struggled for much of the season. The Bills could get a boost if running back C.J. Spiller can return from a broken collarbone.

MIGHTY MACK

The Bills are quite familiar with Raiders rookie linebacker Khalil Mack, who played college ball at the University of Buffalo and was on the Bills' radar at the draft. Buffalo traded up to No. 4 to draft Watkins, and the Raiders got Mack with the next pick. Both teams are happy with the results. Watkins has 59 catches for 850 yards. Mack leads the NFL with 11 tackles at or behind the line in the run game.

'He looks as advertised,' Bills center Eric Wood said. 'Quick, strong, explosive and just a good player on their defense for sure.'

HOME SWEET HOME

Raiders rookie quarterback Derek Carr has been a much different player at home. Carr has completed 61.2 percent of his passes at the Coliseum, with 11 TDs, five interceptions and an 86.5 passer rating. That compares to a 57.8 completion percentage, seven TDs, six interceptions and a 70.3 rating in seven road games, plus a 'home' game in London.

RELIABLE RIVERA

Second-year tight end Mychal Rivera has turned into one of Oakland's most dependable receivers and one of the league's most prolific tight ends. Since the start of Week 7, Rivera has 42 catches for 402 yards and four touchdowns. Only New England's Rob Gronkowski has more catches since then among all NFL tight ends.