Raiders open Allegiant Stadium Week 2 on Monday Night Football
Raiders fans will have to wait until Week 2 of the 2020 NFL season to see their team take the field for a regular season game at their new Las Vegas home. Allegiant Stadium will get to shine its brand new lights on Monday Night Football, where Jon Gruden’s transplant Raiders will host Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints.
Whether fans will be in attendance for the franchise’s landmark game is to be seen, dependent on how COVID-19 impacts of the NFL season come fall.
Here are some quick takeaways from the schedule:
— The Raiders will play four primetime games all in Las Vegas.
— The primetime games will be against the New Orleans Saints (9/13), Tampa Bay Buccaneers (10/25), Kansas City Chiefs (1{2) and Los Angeles Chargers (12/17)
— The Raiders’ toughest stretch looks to come early in the season, where they’ll face the Saints and Bills at home with tough games against the Patriots and Chiefs on the road. A bye week creates a nice buffer before they play Tom Brady’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
— The Raiders and San Francisco 49ers will play a preseason game for the first time in nine years, at Levi’s Stadium sometime between August 20-24.
— The rest of the preseason games:
At Seahawks: August 1317
Vs. Cardinals: August 27-30
Vs. Rams: September 3-4 Here is the remainder of the Raiders’ 2020 schedule, complete with opponents, dates and times (PST).
Week 1: Raiders at Carolina Panthers — September 13 at 10 a.m. PT
Las Vegas will need to wait a week... The Raiders will play in Charlotte for the third time in franchise history. How will this defense wrangle the newly-paid Wild Caff (Christian McCaffrey)?
Week 2: Raiders vs New Orleans Saints on Monday Night Football — September 21 at 5:15 p.m. PT
The Raiders will be making their Las Vegas debut against a team coming off back-to-back 13-3 seasons.
Week 3: Raiders at New England Patriots — September 27 at 10 a.m. PT
No Tom Brady...but Bill Belichick’s genius still looms as the Raiders visit a place where they haven’t won since 1994.
Week 4: Raiders vs Buffalo Bills — October 4 at 1:25 p.m. PT
The Bills are coming off a 10-6 season, their best showing in 20 years and only their fourth winning record since 1999. Is that success sustainable? The Raiders can test it at Allegiant Stadium’s second home game.
Week 5: Raiders at Kansas City Chiefs — October 11 at 10 a.m. PT
The Chiefs have utterly dominated the Raiders to the tune of a 12-2 record over the last seven seasons. Can the Raiders flip the script in a new city against the reigning Super Bowl champs?
Week 6: BYE
The same bye week the Raiders had in 2019.
Week 7: Raiders vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday Night Football — October 25 at 5:20 p.m. PT
The Raiders won’t see Tom Brady when they play the Patriots; instead they will get him when they play the Bucs. On Sunday Night Football, at home, no less.
Week 8: Raiders at Cleveland Browns — November 1 at 10 a.m. PT
Baker Mayfield in Cleveland on a Sunday morning. The Raiders have a two-game winning streak against the Browns. Can they extend it?
Week 9: Raiders at Los Angeles Chargers — November 8 at 1:05 p.m. PT
The Raiders swept their AFC West foe last season and did it with Philip Rivers at QB for the Chargers. This year, they’ll get a rookie quarterback in Justin Herbert.
Week 10: Raiders vs Denver Broncos — November 15 at 1:05 p.m. PT
The Raiders’ attempt to give Oakland one last playoff run last season in Denver when Derek Carr’s game-winning two-point conversion failed. Welcome to Las Vegas.
Week 11: Raiders vs Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday Night Football — November 22 at 5:20 p.m. PT
Primetime (again). In Las Vegas. Against the reigning champs.
Week 12: Raiders at Atlanta Falcons — November 29 at 10 a.m. PT
The first of two consecutive games in the Eastern time zone. Will the Raiders come home, or stay back?
Week 13: Raiders at New York Jets — December 6 at 10 a.m. PT
The Raiders were here last season, at least in body. They lost 34-3 to a Jets team that came in with a record of 3-7.
Week 14: Raiders vs Indianapolis Colts — December 14 at 1:05 p.m. PT
The Raiders will see the Colts for a third season in a row, but Indy will look a lot different, starting at QB where old man (Philip) Rivers landed a one-year, $25-million deal.
Week 15: Raiders vs Los Angeles Chargers on Thursday Night Football — December 17 at 5:20 p.m. PT
The Raiders will host the Chargers for a fourth and final primetime game on Thursday Night Football.
Week 16: Raiders vs Miami Dolphins — December 26 or 27 (time TBD)
The Dolphins have been horrible, but they’ve beaten the Raiders six of seven times since 2010.
Week 17: Raiders at Denver Broncos — January 3 at 1:25 p.m. PT
For the seventh season in a row, the Raiders will finish on the road. For the second year in a row, it will be in Denver.