Las Vegas heads to New England and faces former head coach Josh McDaniels
The 2025 NFL Schedule was released on Wednesday night, and the Las Vegas Raiders will hit the road to begin the 2025 season for a Week 1 matchup against the New England Patriots. According to our friends at FanDuel Sportsbook, the Raiders will open the season as 1.5-point underdogs.
Both teams struggled during the 2024 campaign, both finishing with a 4-13 record. As a result, New England and Las Vegas have new head coaches, meaning Mike Vrabel and Pete Carroll will be looking for their first win at their respective jobs. Also, revenge will be a big theme of the game.
The infamous ‘Tuck Rule’ always gets brought up when the Raiders and Patriots square off against each other. Additionally, Carroll was the Pats’ head coach for three seasons (1997-1999) and posted a 27-21 record during his tenure with the club.
On a similar note, Vrabel hired former Raiders’ head coach Josh McDaniels as his offensive coordinator. McDaniels was fired after one and a half seasons in Las Vegas, logging a 9-16 record. Also, current Raiders’ wide receiver Jakobi Meyers began his career in New England, and racked up 235 catches, 2,758 yards and eight touchdowns over four years with the Patriots.
For the Patriots, wide receiver Mack Hollins and edge rusher K’Lavon Chaisson each spent a year with the Raiders. Hollins was in Las Vegas for the 2022 campaign and had a career season with 57 catches, 690 yards and four touchdowns. Chaisson also had a career year with the Silver and Black, posting five sacks a year ago.
If you’re feeling confident that the Raiders can cover the 1.5-point spread and/or win outright as a +116 underdog against Drake Maye and the Patriots, head on over to FanDuel Sportbook and lock in your bet now. FanDuel already has odds for every Week 1 contest, in addition to future bets for the 2025 NFL season.