Fans of the Oakland Raiders mind not be interested in this article because any game involving the Oakland Raiders is a game to watch. However, these five games are not like the others. These five games will help tell the story of the Oakland Raiders season in 2017.
Five Oakland Raider Games to Watch in 2017
5. at the Tennessee Titans, September 10th, 10:00 a.m.
Last season, the Oakland Raiders pulled off a dramatic victory over the New Orleans Saints in week one, and it set the tone for the entire season. The Raiders will start their season on the road again in 2017, this time against Marcus Mariota and the Tennessee Titans.
Much like the Raiders, the Titans are a young team preparing to make that hurdle to the next level. Just like the Raiders, they lost their quarterback to a broken leg last year. It’ll be interesting to see how both young quarterbacks bounce back in a game that could be a premonition of the future of the AFC.
4. at the Los Angeles Chargers, October 15th, 1:25 p.m.
The San Diego Los Angeles Chargers are a strange team. They’re very talented on paper, and even when they’re struggling, they give Carr and company a run for their money. But more interestingly, this will be the first time that the Oakland Raiders travel back to Los Angeles. It’ll be fun to see how the team is received, when it’s no secret that the city got the wrong AFC West team.
3. at the Philadelphia Eagles, December 25th, 5:30 p.m.
On Christmas night, the Oakland Raiders will have to travel across the country to play the Philadelphia Eagles. It remains to be seen how good Carson Wentz and the Eagles are going to be next year, but they have a lot of potential, and being far away from their families on a cold Pennsylvania night could be brutal for the Silver and Black.
2. vs. the Kansas City Chiefs, October 19th, 5:25 p.m.
It’s no secret that the Kansas City Chiefs have had Derek Carr and the Oakland Raiders number over the last couple of years. Carr has but one win against their hated division rivals in his career, and yet again, the Silver and Black will face Kansas City on Thursday Night Football. Andy Reid‘s Chiefs represent somewhat of a curse on Carr and the Raiders, and they’ll need to get that monkey off their back if they want to be taken seriously.
1. vs. the New England Patriots, November 19th,
This one is a bit obvious. The New England Patriots are the defending Super Bowl champions, and the team that has dominated the AFC for the better part of the last two decades. If the Oakland Raiders are ever going to become viable Super Bowl contenders, they’ll have to defeat Tom Brady and the New England Patriots at some point.
It’s a home game, but not really, as they’ll be playing in Mexico. However, when the Raiders played the Houston Texans in Mexico last year, it was definitely a Raider crowd. How the Raiders do in this game will greatly impact their success in 2017.
