With training camp underway and the preseason fast approaching, Last Word on Pro Football is analyzing the schedules of all 32 NFL teams. Each team’s 16-game slate will be split into its most difficult (1-8) and easiest games (9-16). For this article, the Oakland Raiders most difficult games of 2019 will be discussed.
Oakland Raiders Most Difficult Games in 2019
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Week Five: vs Chicago Bears
Saying that the schedule makers were unkind to the Oakland Raiders this year would be an understatement. There’s a six-week span in which the Raiders don’t have a true home game, and this London game against the Chicago Bears is right in the middle of it all. The Raiders will have to be prepared for an extremely motivated Khalil Mack and a smoke and mirrors offense that will be difficult to prepare for on a short week. The last time the Raiders played in London, they were held to six points and couldn’t stop the Seattle Seahawks run game to save their lives. Be that as it may, these London games always have a way of producing some very unpredictable outcomes.
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Week 13: at Kansas City Chiefs
There’s never anything easy about playing a game in Arrowhead Stadium. Add in the fact that this game is in the first week of December, and you’ve got yourselves the making of a very tough exhibition. The Raiders main priority is to win the AFC West. To do that, they’re going to have to go through Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs. If they can’t find a way to at least split the season series with the Chiefs, then their quest for the AFC West crown will remain as nothing more than a dream.
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Week Eight: at Houston Texans
The final opponent in the Raiders six-week span without a home game, the Houston Texans expect to be ready to potentially put an early nail in the coffin for the Raiders 2019 season. Even if the Raiders weren’t coming off a grueling road trip, the Texans would still be a formidable opponent. The Texans have been a perennial playoff team since drafting Deshaun Watson. There’s also going to be a lot of pressure on Bill O’Brien to finally get his team over the hump and make some real noise in the playoffs.
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Week Seven: at Green Bay Packers
I could start off by telling you that the Raiders game in Green Bay against the Packers is yet another part of their grueling, early-season road schedule, but I’m sure you got the message by now. Playing at Lambeau Field is a lot like playing at Arrowhead. It’s not for the faint of heart. Aaron Rodgers will have a lot to prove this season as many people, including myself, have labeled him as overrated and a tad bit sensitive. If there is one thing Rodgers does well, though, it’s his play at Lambeau. The Raiders will certainly have their work cut out for them though, as they have lost their seven games against the Packers.
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Week Four: at Indianapolis Colts
The Colts are on most people’s shortlist of Super Bowl contenders heading into the 2019 season. The Colts were mainly a run-heavy team in 2018, but that figures to change with the addition of speedster Parris Campbell in the draft. With Andrew Luck having his first legitimate deep-threat in his career, there’s no telling how lethal this Colts offense might be. Trying to go into Indianapolis and beat the Colts this year will be no easy task no matter which team you are.
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Week Two: vs Kansas City Chiefs
This early Week Two contest against the Super Bowl favorite Kansas City Chiefs will be the first true test of the Raiders season. This is as close as you can get to a must-win game this early in the season. With a grueling six-week road schedule waiting on the horizon, it’s essential for the Raiders to collect as many wins as possible beforehand. The only surefire bet to get to the playoffs is by winning your division, so the Raiders will need to steal one of these games from the Chiefs to even have a chance at capturing the AFC West title. This will be the last time the Raiders will play the Chiefs in Oakland, and they were swept by them last year, so this looks to be an extremely intense and emotional game from start to finish.
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Week Three: at Minnesota Vikings
This will be the Raiders’ first road game of the season as they travel east to play the Vikings. Minnesota looks to bounce back this season in what could possibly be a make or break year for Mike Zimmer. If the Vikings start slow, then there’s a very real possibility that Mike Zimmer could get canned by the middle of the season. To think that it’d be, in large part, due to the terrible contract the Vikings gave to Kirk Cousins and you can’t help but feel bad for the guy. With all that in mind, there’s no doubt that the Vikings will do everything in their power to come out swinging early in the season.
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Week 15: vs Jacksonville Jaguars
At this junction in the season, this might be a must-win game for both teams involved. The Jaguars are looking to recapture some of the magic from their 2017 season with the off-season addition of Nick Foles. Even with that move, their offense still leaves a lot to be desired. The Jaguars still look to go as their defense does, and it’s easy to see when you have players like Jalen Ramsey and Yannick Ngakoue (maybe) on that side of the ball. At the very least, a matchup between Antonio Brown and Jalen Ramsey looks to have drama written all over it.
