NFL just robbed the Las Vegas Raiders of having a chance to test their new look team right away
The 2025 season schedule release is nearly here, with streaming partners revealing select games throughout the week. For the Las Vegas Raiders and all other teams, the full list of opponents for 2025 is already known. But we don't know when they will play that team or what streaming service it will be on if […]
The 2025 season schedule release is nearly here, with streaming partners revealing select games throughout the week. For the Las Vegas Raiders and all other teams, the full list of opponents for 2025 is already known.
But we don't know when they will play that team or what streaming service it will be on if it's a primetime game. We also don't know the times these games will be played, which is also very important.
Based on what we know about their opponents in 2025, and who they are playing at home and on the road, we know that the Raiders have several opportunities to prove themselves in 2025. But why wouldn't you want that first opportunity to be the first game of the year?
Why wouldn't you want to be the only game on, playing the first live game of the year? I'm sure the Raiders do want that, but the NFL doesn't want that for them. On Monday, parts of the schedule began to be released, or leaked, if you'd rather use that phrasing. The Raiders did not make the cut for the first game of the year against the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles.
The NFL decided the Eagles should open the season against the Dallas Cowboys, which, admittedly, will be a good matchup. But the Raiders would have been a better matchup. But, according to Ari Meirov, the Raiders were in contention for that spot.
The world would have gotten to see the new look Raiders pretty early on in the season, as Geno Smith and Pete Carroll attempt to turn things around. We have no idea what it's going to look like, especially on offense. With Patrick Graham as the defensive coordinator, and he and Carroll sharing some similar philosophies and play styles on defense, we can assume it will look pretty similar to what we have seen the last few years.
As for the offense, it's a huge wild card. It could be a pretty good offense, or it could be pretty bad. The best chance to test that would have been going up against not only the best defense in the NFL in the Eagles, but the best team in the NFL in Week 1.
The NFL robbed the Raiders of getting a chance to prove it early on. But, they will get their shot at the champs sometime throughout the season. When, well, we still don't know, but we should find that out sometime this week.
