Las Vegas Raiders schedule gets much easier after 3-2 start

The Raiders played one of the toughest schedules in the league the first five weeks, not facing a single team with a losing record. Luckily, the schedule gets much easier after the bye.

The Las Vegas Raiders managed to finish their brutal first five weeks of the season with a 3-2 record, defeating three solid teams in the Carolina Panthers, New Orleans Saints, and the defending Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs.

The two losses came from other impressive teams, as the they fell to the New England Patriots and the undefeated Buffalo Bills. Starting the season 3-2 is something that Raiders fans should be happy about, as Las Vegas was the underdog in most, if not every one of these games.

Heading into the season, most people thought the Raiders would start off 1-4, likely only defeating the Panthers, and getting dominated by the Saints, Patriots, Bills, and Chiefs. Luckily for Raider Nation, this was not the case.

Heading into the Bye Week

The Raiders now head into their bye week 3-2, and their schedule becomes much easier. The first two weeks back could be tough games for the Raiders, as they face Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday Night Football, then the Cleveland Browns, who have been impressive so far this season.

After that, Las Vegas faces two opponents that they should be favored against in the Los Angeles Chargers and the Denver Broncos, before having a rematch with the Kansas City Chiefs. Once that game is over, the Raiders schedule becomes even easier, where the team will have a chance to go on a win streak.

After the Chiefs game, Las Vegas will be facing off against the Atlanta Falcons, New York Jets, Indianapolis Colts, Los Angeles Chargers, Miami Dolphins, and Denver Broncos, finishing out a six game stretch where the Raiders should be favored in at least five games.

When the Raiders are healthy, they have shown that they can compete with the elite teams in the league. When Henry Ruggs has been on the field, the Raiders have dominated on offense, and are currently sitting at 3-0.

Richie Incognito returns after the bye week, Trent Brown will get a chance to rest and continue to get healthy, and they should have Bryan Edwards back, as well.

Las Vegas a winning record after the toughest five game stretch of the season, and if the odds came out right now, would likely be favored in at least seven of the next eleven games coming up, if not more. Everything finally appears to be coming together for this young team, and the matchup against the Buccaneers cannot come soon enough.