It is exhausting to think about all of the times that the Las Vegas Raiders have gotten the short end of the stick when it comes to the NFL's decision-making. Every year, the fan base awaits the league's schedule release just to figure out exactly how the powers that be in the NFL screwed them this time.
Thus far in 2025, the team has already faced its share of disadvantages. They played two of their first three games on the East Coast, one of which came on a short week. In Week 9, the Raiders didn't even get a rest advantage after their bye week because their opponents were also coming off a bye.
Las Vegas has the largest rest disadvantage in the league this year, and it isn't particularly close, as they only have one game with a rest advantage. But the way that the league stacked the Week 11 schedule to benefit the Dallas Cowboys is just flat-out ridiculous.
NFL took away Raiders' rest advantage while letting Cowboys get reinforcements
The Raiders last played on Thursday Night Football in Week 10, and they won't play again until Monday Night Football in Week 11. That means that the Silver and Black have a whopping 11-day rest, which is essentially a mini-bye.
So, Las Vegas should have a massive rest advantage in this game, right? Well, not exactly. See, the Cowboys had a bye in Week 10, and they haven't played a game since November 3. That means, despite the Raiders' long week, they'll still be at a three-day rest disadvantage against Dallas.
It is no surprise that America's Team would get this kind of treatment from the NFL, and that the Raiders would get a raw deal. Not to mention, the trade deadline occurred during the Cowboys' bye week, so they would have extra time to get their new pieces integrated.
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Dallas traded for superstar defensive tackle Quinnen Williams and linebacker Logan Wilson, both of whom will be tremendous assets for their struggling defense. Oh, and the Cowboys are getting key pieces back from injury as well due to the extended time off.
Star linebacker DeMarvion Overshown and rookie cornerback Shavon Revel Jr. will make their season debuts, which is just bad timing for the Raiders. But starting safety duo Malik Hooker and Donovan Wilson took full advantage of the extended time off and will make their returns on Monday.
As always, the Silver and Black have ended up on the wrong side of a scheduling mishap, if you can even qualify it as that. If Las Vegas can overcome this unnecessarily steep hill to climb, then it will be a triumphant victory for the Raiders.