Playoff Situation Looks Silver and Bleak : Raiders: Art Shell says “great talent” is there, but two straight losses make wild-card possibilities a longshot.

The honeymoon is over, the Raiders are a playoff longshot, whether they admit it or not, and a new realism is beginning to pervade silver and blackdom.

The day after his team was whipped in Houston, Coach Art Shell, talked of the “great talent” around him, but under questioning, added this qualifier:

“When I say great talent, don’t get me wrong. We have great talent in a lot of areas. We understand our shortcomings in other areas. But we have enough talent, I feel, to overcome the shortcomings, enough talent to win with. We don’t have great talent at every position, by no means.

“When I say talent--you’ve got Willie Gault out there, you’ve got Mervyn Fernandez out there. That’s great talent. You’ve got Howie Long and Greg Townsend. That’s great talent. Jerry Robinson, great talent.

“I’m not saying the whole team is great talent, no. We’re good enough football players to back up that great talent in order to win.”

What’s gone wrong since they were 5-4?

--Steve Beuerlein got hurt.

Real bad break for the Raiders, who had to go back to slumping Jay Schroeder, providing a window of vulnerability the San Diego Chargers charged through.

--The defense sagged.

Far more important. It didn’t matter how well Beuerlein and Bo Jackson did, they weren’t going to win anything important if the defense wasn’t on its way back to form.

In the last three games, the Cincinnati Bengals, Chargers and Oilers have amassed rushing totals of 145, 136 and 170 yards.

The Chargers ran out the last 4:21 of a 14-12 win on the ground.

The Oilers held the ball for 39:48 Sunday.

The Raiders say it has come in passing situations and from cutbacks, but it’s no longer a problem here and there. It’s a pattern again.

Are they suffering the after-effects of Jerry Robinson’s concussion three weeks ago? Robinson rejoined the lineup Sunday and took another hit that shook him up. Linden King waved to the sideline for a replacement but Robinson stayed in.

More likely, it’s more than one man.

A Raider official says this team is about four quality players away. Figure one or two on offense (starting at left tackle for Rory Graves?), and two or three on defense, where the outside linebackers figure to get a look, for starters.

Shell says the Raiders’ playoff chances are “just as good as anybody else’s,” but he’s obliged to strike a positive note.

Two wild-card contenders, Houston and Miami, are two games ahead of them.

Houston has won the head-up meeting, so the Raiders would have to finish ahead of the Oilers to beat them.

The Dolphins have a soft schedule, with no .500 teams left on it.

If Miami wins the AFC East, the Raiders might have to catch Buffalo (7-4), which is also two games ahead, and has a 6-4 conference record to the Raiders’ 4-5.

If Houston wins the AFC Central, the Raiders might have to catch Cleveland (7-3-1), which has a 2 1/2-game lead and a better conference record, 5-3-1.

The Raiders are also a game behind Cincinnati (6-5), although the Raiders would win a tie here because they beat the Bengals.

The Indianapolis Colts (5-6) have a 4-4 conference record, so the Raiders would have to overtake them, too.

The injury report:

Steve Beuerlein says he’s fine. Shell says Beuerlein will start Sunday against the New England Patriots.

Shell says Bo Jackson’s twingy left thigh muscle is fine, and he fully expects Bo to go.

Marcus Allen, who tore a ligament in his right knee, is eligible to practice. But Shell says Allen won’t play this week.

Raider Notes

The Raiders’ next three games are at home, against the New England Patriots, Denver Broncos and Phoenix Cardinals. “We need this right about now,” Art Shell said. . . . Bob Golic, on going back in after getting knocked woozy: “I lined up in my usual spot across from center. Then I looked up and saw Bruce Matthews staring me in the face. I thought, ‘This concussion must really be bad, I’m lining up in the wrong spot.’ ” Matthews, a guard, shifted to center when the starter was hurt.