Inside the Allegiant Stadium locker room, Jonah Laulu led Las Vegas in its own Christmas carol. It was the night of December 22 and - according to head coach Antonio Pierce - it was ‘long overdue'.

‘Rai-Ders!' the defensive tackle belted out, before his teammates repeated the one-word war cry. The most wonderful time of the year. And, as Pierce put it, ‘the best f***ing feeling in the world'.

How the mood had changed from a few days earlier, when the Falcons condemned Las Vegas to a 10th straight loss and any specks of holiday cheer had evaporated from the Raiders locker room.

That's what one win can do and Las Vegas hasn't enjoyed many of those in recent times. Victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars on December 22 was only the Raiders' third all season. And the first since Tom Brady was confirmed as a part-owner of the team.

There are, though, two crumbs of comfort for the legendary quarterback: no team can be relegated from the NFL. And, on this side of the pond, it can pay to lose.