The Las Vegas Raiders are coming off of an 8-9 season, a final record made all the more remarkable by average quarterback play and a slow start that included five losses over a seven game stretch.
The Raiders are coming back strong for this season with a talented roster led by rising head coach Antonio Pierce and defensive end and pass rusher extraordinaire Maxx Crosby. The Raiders may have an improved roster this season with an even tougher schedule now that Jim Harbaugh is the head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers and Sean Payton may have found his starting quarterback, Bo Nix, in Denver.
The Raiders’ 2024-2025 schedule includes a handful of playoff opponents from other divisions as well as a full AFC West slate. It was released during a time period when the Raiders’ biggest rookie sleeper was revealed. Coach Pierce’s OTA changes were also revealed.
The full schedule can be viewed here.
The Chargers are the Raiders’ biggest potential 2024-2025 pitfall
The biggest pitfall on the Raiders’ 2024-2025 schedule is a pair of dates with the Los Angeles Chargers. The Chargers are expected to be a much improved team with last year’s College Football Playoff winner Jim Harbaugh of the Michigan Wolverines calling the shots in the City of Angels.
The Raiders will play Harbaugh’s Chargers both at home and neither one is a guaranteed win by any stretch of the imagination.
Last season, the Chargers finished just 5-12. They were -52 in the points column and generally let down their entire fanbase with their losing ways leading to the firing of Brandon Staley.
This year’s Chargers might not be a Super Bowl caliber team by any stretch of the imagination but they’ve gotten a lot tougher this offseason, revamping the roster with designs on being a more physical team. Gone are longtime offensive players Keenan Allen and Austin Ekeler in favor of ex-Ravens bruiser Gus Edwards at the RB position and JK Dobbins, also formerly of Harbaugh’s brother’s current NFL team.
Chargers, Raiders more fairly matched in 2024-2025
First round pick Joe Alt could give the Chargers a bookend man mountain of a left tackle to contend with Maxx Crosby on the pass rusher from day one. Junior Colson gives Harbaugh’s team a plug-and-play middle linebacker who could make the team’s defense instantly better.
Both games against the Chargers will be a gut check for Coach Pierce’s team. The Raiders’ grit gave them an edge over the Chargers in a 40-plus point victory last season, although they lost the other contest. The Harbaugh-coached Chargers won’t be the same pushovers they were last season and now it’s up to Aidan O’Connell, Crosby, Pierce and rookie tight end Brock Bowers to prepare for war.
Aside from the Chargers, the Raiders have challenging games against the Broncos and Chiefs on the schedule. Nix has drawn rave reviews from Coach Payton so far this season, but the general consensus is he’s not quite ready for prime time, especially with a relative lack of weapons on the Broncos’ offense (although the team did make an underrated offseason addition in Josh Reynolds from the Lions).
The Chiefs are of course the back-to-back Super Bowl Champions. Pierce, Crosby and the rest of the Raiders have a giant-killers mentality, but it’s going to take way more than that to dethrone the defending champs. Aidan O’Connell’s play at the quarterback position looms large, and rookie tight end Brock Bowers could help him reach a new level in the offense.
The time is now for the Raiders to give it all they’ve got in preparation for a rugged schedule that will prove to be a litmus test for one of the NFL’s most unpredictable and combustible franchises of all-time.
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