A look at what to expect this week
The Las Vegas Raiders will find out their 2025 schedule Wednesday at 5 p.m. PT.
The Raiders will be an intriguing team to watch this season as they begin the Pete Carroll, Geno Smith and Ashton Jeanty era. They are sure to get some prime-time (and holiday game) consideration. Here are five potential opponents for a prime-time game for the Silver and Black:
Kansas City:
This could be a holiday game. The Raiders have visited the Chiefs on Christmas Day and Black Friday in the past two games and the Silver and Black provided a national stand-alone audience a great show as they upset the Chiefs in 2023 and nearly pulled off another upset last year. Run it back?
Denver Broncos/Los Angeles Chargers:
The AFC West is loaded and it features high-profile coaches in Pete Carroll, Andy Reid, Jim Harbaugh and Sean Payton. These should be some fun matchups. Who says no to a Sunday night game between the Raiders and Chargers as Carroll and Harbaugh renew their intense rivalry from their NFC West days from a decade ago?
Philadelphia:
The Super Bowl champion Eagles are going to be playing in prime time often. So, why not feature the Raiders’ game in Philly under the lights?
Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images
New York Giants:
This one may happen. I could see the Raiders hosting the Giants in an early-season game (Thursday night, perhaps?). The Giants are a major market team and there is a great written storyline as Russell Wilson is expected to be the Giants’ starting quarterback and he will be facing former Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll and teammate Geno Smith in this matchup. Carroll and the Raiders chose pursuing Smith over Wilson this offseason. That creates some solid prime-time drama.
Dallas Cowboys:
This will be the Cowboys’ first regular-season game in Las Vegas and there will be a lot of fans from fans of these two passionate fan bases. The last time these two teams met was on Thanksgiving in 2021 and it was a dandy. This game won’t be on Turkey Day (Dallas will host a game that day), but maybe Christmas in Vegas?