Raiders give 49ers a present on Christmas Eve

The San Francisco 49ers were sitting at home Monday evening, but they managed to improve their draft position nonetheless! The Oakland Raiders beat the Denver Broncos on Monday Night Football, in what might be the final football game at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. The Raiders jumped on top early and Denver didn’t seem to care much about being there. The Raiders walked away with a 27-14 victory.

The Raiders win improves them to 4-11, which means they are now tied with the San Francisco 49ers and New York Jets. The 49ers climb into the No. 2 spot, followed by the Jets at No. 3 and the Raiders at No. 4. The 49ers have a half game edge on the Jets in the strength of schedule tiebreaker (120-118-2 to 120-117-3).

We’ll have a full rundown of the rooting guide for Week 17 later this week, but for now, the 49ers have gotten a slight boost. Technically they still have a shot at the top pick in the draft. If the 49ers lose to the Los Angeles Rams next week and the Arizona Cardinals beat the Seattle Seahawks, the 49ers move into the No. 1 spot if they maintain their SOS edge over the Jets. A Cardinals win over Seattle is unlikely (the Seahawks are playing for fifth vs. sixth seed), but crazier things have happened!