The Las Vegas Raiders will almost have two different teams as Kirk Cousins starts first with Fernando Mendoza on deck.
The Las Vegas Raiders have an intriguing schedule for several reasons, and one of the biggest is that we’ll probably be seeing at least two versions of the team this year. The first will be the unit likely led by quarterback Kirk Cousins, and there may also be a very different team at whatever point top pick Fernando Mendoza steps in and starts taking snaps.
There are two winnable games for the Cousins version in the early going. The Raiders open at home against the Miami Dolphins on Sept. 13, and two weeks later they pay a visit to the New Orleans Saints.
The other two games in that four-game stretch are tough battles against divisional opponents, first on the road against the Los Angeles Charger in Week 2, then hosting the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 4.
After that there are pair of tough AFC East tests, with the New England Patriots following the Chiefs into town, then a road trip to play the Buffalo Bills. The Los Angeles Rams are up next at home, followed by a winnable road trip to visit the New York Jets.
From there things turn brutal. The Raiders host the San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks, after which they visit the Denver Broncos at Empower Mile High.
Another winnable road game against the Cleveland Browns follows, then a very late Week 13 bye.
The stretch run might be the easiest part of the Raiders schedule, as they get the Tennessee Titans at home and the Arizona Cardinals on the road, with those two games sandwiched between divisional tests at home against the Broncos and a road finale against the Chiefs.
If you’re keeping score at home, that’s a total of six winnable games, which would double Las Vegas’ win total of three last year. Not all of those teams will be easy to beat, though, as at least one of those beatable opponents could rise up and be tough, given that that happens every season on the NFL.
Expect the Raiders to be laser-focused on their own development process, however. This isn’t a team that’s expected to contend, and getting anywhere close to .500 would be a major achievement.
Another interesting aspect of this schedule is that the Raiders are being completely ignored by the league’s broadcast partners when it comes to marquee time slots. They have no Sunday night or Monday night games, and there are no international games on the docket either.
This is somewhat surprising given the presence of a new coach and a top college quarterback who led his team to the national championship, but the networks are probably feeling burned after scheduling the Raiders when they featured Pete Carroll and Geno Smith but turned out to be virtually unwatchable.
