Oakland Raiders 2017 Schedule Is Announced

The schedule of the Oakland Raiders for the 2017 season has been announced.

Parts of the 2017 NFL schedule leaked throughout the day, but the entire schedule has now been released. Here’s a rundown of the schedule of the Oakland Raiders, as well as some interesting information regarding the schedule.

Every team knew their 2017 opponents not too long after the Super Bowl, and when that was known, strength of schedule was able to be determined. The Raiders will have the fourth toughest schedule in 2017, per the NFL’s official Twitter account.

Which teams have the hardest strength of schedule in 2017? pic.twitter.com/gZ4jUnPCbU
— NFL (@NFL) February 17, 2017

It’s no surprise, but the AFC West make up the top four in terms of strength of schedule. As the best division in football, each team has to play one another twice, thus boosting the strength of schedule compared to other teams.

What is a bit surprising is that even though the Raiders have the fourth toughest strength of schedule, they will only play four playoff teams from 2016 — Patriots, Cowboys, Giants, Chiefs. Since the Chiefs count twice, the other 11 teams they will face were not in the playoffs in 2016.

This shows that the Raiders will face many teams that just missed out on the playoffs. The Jets and and Chargers were 5-11, and the rest of the non-playoff opponents were between 7-9 and 9-7.

Let’s get on to the good stuff — the full schedule. All times are Pacific.

Week 1 – Sunday, Sept. 10 – at Tennessee Titans – 10:00am
Week 2 – Sunday, Sept. 17 – vs. New York Jets – 1:05pm
Week 3 – Sunday, Sept. 24 – at Washington Redskins – 5:30pm
Week 4 – Sunday, Oct. 1 – at Denver Broncos – 1:25pm
Week 5 – Sunday, Oct. 8 – vs. Baltimore Ravens – 1:05pm
Week 6 – Sunday, Oct. 15 – vs. Los Angeles Chargers – 1:25pm
Week 7 – Thursday, Oct. 19 – vs. Kansas City Chiefs – 5:25pm
Week 8 – Sunday, Oct. 29 – at Buffalo Bills – 10:00am
Week 9 – Sunday, Nov. 5 – at Miami Dolphins – 5:30pm
Week 10 – Bye
Week 11 – Sunday, Nov. 19 – vs. New England Patriots (in Mexico City) – 1:25pm
Week 12 – Sunday, Nov. 26 – vs. Denver Broncos – 1:25pm
Week 13 – Sunday, Dec. 3 – vs. New York Giants – 1:25pm
Week 14 – Sunday, Dec. 10 – at Kansas City Chiefs – 10:00am
Week 15 – Sunday, Dec. 17 – vs. Dallas Cowboys – 5:30pm
Week 16 – Monday, Dec. 25 – at Philadelphia Eagles – 5:30pm
Week 17 – Sunday, Dec. 31 – at Los Angeles Chargers – 1:25pm

For the second year in a row, the Raiders will open up with three out of four on the road. But unlike last year, the Raiders will also close the season with three out of four games on the road. That’s a bit rough.

There are only three 10:00am games, definitely fewer than most past seasons. And those morning games aren’t at home — the Raiders will be on the road for each one of those.

The bye week is the same as last year — Week 10. It’s a good place to have a bye week, although it would have been nice to have the bye after either the Thursday game or the Mexico City game.

The Raiders have five primetime games — Week 3 at Washington, Week 7 vs. Kansas City (on Thursday), Week 9 at Miami, Week 15 vs. Dallas and Week 16 at Philadelphia (Monday, Christmas). And while the Mexico City game isn’t primetime, that one will feel like a marquee game with how hard the NFL will be pushing it.

More from Just Blog Baby

The 2016 playoff teams are Week 7 (Chiefs), Week 9 (Dolphins), Week 11 (Patriots), Week 14 (Chiefs) and Week 15 (Cowboys).

The back-to-back road games:

Week 3 and 4 – Washington and Denver
Week 8 and 9 – Buffalo and Miami
Week 16 and 17 – Philadelphia and Los Angeles

Oakland will have three consecutive homes games officially twice, but only once if we don’t count the Patriots game. Week 5, 6 and 7 — Baltimore, Los Angeles, Kansas City.

The short week — the Sunday game that follows the Thursday game — isn’t bad because it’s against the Chiefs and then the Chargers. So the Raiders will have familiarity with both teams, which will help with preparation.

What are your thoughts on the schedule? What parts do you like, and/or what parts don’t you like?