"The Raiders' game Sunday against the San Diego Chargers not only represents a chance for Oakland to be in the playoffs but also serves as a referendum on the Carson Palmer deal.

"That's why we made the trade, to have this opportunity," coach Hue Jackson said Wednesday. "If not, then why do it? It's about winning."

On Oct. 18, two days after starting quarterback Jason Campbell was lost because of a broken right collarbone in a win over Cleveland, Jackson pried loose Palmer from the Cincinnati Bengals.

The Bengals were adamant about not trading Palmer, who vowed to sit out the season rather than return to the team that drafted him No. 1 overall in 2003. Jackson, who had worked for the Bengals and had a relationship with their president, Mike Brown, got together with Raiders owner Mark Davis and CEO Amy Trask and made Brown an offer he couldn't refuse.

It cost the Raiders a first-round draft pick in 2012 and a second-round pick that could be upgraded to a No. 1 in 2013 if the Raiders advance to the conference title game.

Reviews of the trade were split between those who thought the Raiders gave up too much for a quarterback who turned 32 on Tuesday and those who considered it a bold gamble by a team not interested in waiting another season to make a playoff run."