Caleb Harris
The Las Vegas Raiders already knew who they would play in 2024 and where, but now that the NFL The regular season schedule has been officially released, the full picture of next year is in focus.
They will begin the season traveling the first two weeks before hosting the Carolina Panthers in the home opener at Allegiant Stadium in Week 3. Vegas will also participate in the NFL’s Black Friday game on November 29 when they travel to Arrowhead Stadium to face Kansas City Chiefs. Meanwhile, the Raiders will see old friend Derek Carr in Week 17 when they travel to New Orleans to face the Saints.
The Raiders are coming off an 8-9 season in 2023. This offseason, the club named Antonio Pierce as full-time head coach after a strong run last year when he had the interim title. Las Vegas also hired former Chargers GM Tom Telesco to run the personnel department. As for the roster, the Raiders made an impact on the defensive side of the ball by signing Christian Wilkins as a free agent. They also added Gardner Minshew, but were on the outside looking in on drafting a quarterback in 2024 NFL Draft. So, it will likely be Minshew or Aidan O’Connell who will be QB1 throughout the year.
The road ahead looks a little daunting for Las Vegas, as Sharp Football Analysis notes they have the ninth-toughest schedule in the league based on opponent projected win totals. That said, they are the favorites to surpass the 6.5 win total at FanDuel Sportsbooks.
Below, we’ll look at the Raiders’ entire 18-game slate, highlight key games, the club’s toughest stretch, and finally go game-by-game to predict how this season will play out.
Complete 2024 Raiders Schedule
*All Eastern times
Key observations from the schedule
- Late Bye Week (Week 10)
- The first two away games against the Harbaugh brothers
- The meeting with Derek Carr takes place in week 17 in New Orleans
- Participating in Prime Video’s “Black Friday” game at Chiefs
- There are currently no “Sunday Night Football” games scheduled; just two games in prime time
- Five games start at 10am on the West Coast
Hardest stretch
- Week 7 at Rams
- Week 8 vs. Week 8 Bosses
- Week 9 at Bengals
The Raiders will welcome a week off at the end of the season (Week 10), and they will certainly need it considering the competition they will see in the weeks leading up. The three-week stretch from Week 7 to Week 9 looks to be the toughest part of Las Vegas’ schedule, as it will face Super Bowl threats. The Raiders will begin this challenge at SoFi Stadium, where they will face the Rams. They will then return home to host the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs before once again boarding a plane to travel to Cincinnati to face Joe Burrow and the Bengals.
An honorable mention for the toughest stretch also comes from footage from Week 1 and Week 2, where the Raiders will face both Harbaugh brothers on the road. They will be in Los Angeles for Jim Harbaugh’s Chargers debut at the start of the season and then head to Baltimore to face John Harbaugh’s Ravens.
Five unmissable clashes
1. vs. Santos (Week 17) – This game will have a lot of hype around it. This will mark the first time the Raiders have faced Derek Carr since he was released by the organization in February 2023. Since then, he has been linked to New Orleans, so it will be an interesting reunion for the franchise and its all-time leading passer. The only downside is that it arrives extremely late in the year. If the Saints struggle, there’s a chance Carr won’t be under center in this matchup, as they could opt to see what rookie Spencer Rattler looks like before heading into the offseason.
2. at Chiefs (Week 13) – The Raiders have gotten used to playing on holidays in recent years and will do so again in 2024. They will head to Kansas City for an AFC West showdown during Prime Video’s “Black Friday” broadcast. In addition to being a standalone holiday game, Raiders vs. Chiefs matchups are always filled with palpable disdain, so it should be a fantastic grudge match.
3. in chargers (week 1) – The season opener should always be in the round, and there are some intriguing storylines to watch in this game as well. Of course, Tom Telesco was previously the GM of the Chargers, so now he’ll see his newly constructed Raiders team try to take down his old club. There’s also Jim Harbaugh’s return to the NFL as head coach in Los Angeles. While this is technically a road game, it may feel like a home opener, with Raiders fans routinely able to take over SoFi Stadium.
4. vs. Panthers (Week 3) – The home opener takes place in week 3 of this year and after a very difficult stretch in the first two weeks. The planners did the Raiders a favor, however, by giving them an easier opponent to open Allegiant Stadium in the Carolina Panthers, so fans should expect a W at this position.
5. vs. Falcons (Week 15) – Las Vegas has just two primetime games this season. The first arrives on Black Friday; the only other appears in Week 15, when it hosts Atlanta on “Monday Night Football.” The Falcons made some noise this offseason by signing Kirk Cousins in free agency, so this should end up being a good back-and-forth fight.
Game-by-game predictions
Here’s a quick game-by-game prediction with a brief reasoning behind each:
- Week 1 at Chargers: Loss – Jim Harbaugh will have the Chargers ready to go and the quarterback mismatch between Justin Herbert and Gardner Minshew seems a little too much for Las Vegas to overcome. — (0-1)
- Week 2 at Ravens: Loss – It’s a tough two weeks for the Raiders as they have some tough opponents in the AFC, including the Ravens here. They have reigning MVP Lamar Jackson and signed running back Derrick Henry as a free agent. Baltimore must be able to control things on the ground en route to victory. — (0-2)
- Week 3 vs. Week 3 Panthers: victory – After a rough first two weeks, Pierce gets into the win column in the home opener against a Panthers team that finished with the league’s worst record in 2023. – (1-2)
- Week 4 vs. Week 4 Browns: Loss – Cleveland’s defense was arguably the best in the NFL last year and I expect that to continue through 2024. This could spell bad news for Minshew, who will be under siege for most of the contest. — (1-3)
- Week 5 at Broncos: Win – Bo Nix is likely Denver’s starter from the start, which is good news for the Raiders. Maxx Crosby and the Raiders’ pass rush should be able to shake up the first-round rookie. — (2-3)
- Week 6 vs. Week 6 Steelers: Victory – It looks like a low-scoring contest between two great defenses and it will be up to each attack to make as few mistakes as possible. I’ll take my chances with an efficient Minshew, who will put the ball in the hands of his point guards like Davante Adams and rookie Brock Bowers. — (3-3)
- Week 7 at Rams: Loss – This begins the toughest period for the Raiders in 2024. They will likely have a strong fan presence at SoFi Stadium, but Matthew Stafford and Sean McVay are too much to overcome as long as the Rams’ roster is healthy. — (3-4)
- Week 8 vs. Week 8 Chiefs: Loss – Las Vegas always plays the Chiefs hard, but I don’t see Patrick Mahomes losing to this club this year, barring a shocking collapse. — (3-5)
- Week 9 at Bengals: Loss – After a thrilling divisional showdown with the Chiefs, the Raiders are being invited to travel to Cincinnati to face the Bengals. Wow. If Joe Burrow is healthy, it’s hard to see this team returning to Las Vegas with a win. — (3-6)
- Week 10 – GOODBYE WEEK
- Week 11 at Dolphins: Loss – The rest of the Week 10 bye will be welcomed by the Raiders, but it won’t help them out of the gate. The Dolphins are one of the fastest teams in the league with Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle, which should give the Raiders secondary offense. — (3-7)
- Week 12 vs. Week 12 Broncos: Victory – As we noted previously, I like the Raiders’ chances against Nix throughout the year, as I don’t see the Broncos being particularly competitive in what appears to be a transition year. The losing streak broke. — (4-7)
- Week 13 at Chiefs: Loss – The Black Friday game is crazy with the Chiefs and Raiders in Arrowhead. Kansas City will likely be fighting for first place in the AFC, so there will be no letting up in this tight matchup. — (4-8)
- Week 14 at Buccaneers: Loss – The Buccaneers managed to keep the band together this offseason by re-signing Baker Mayfield and Mike Evans. At home, I think Tampa Bay’s players do well to stay in the division race in the NFC South. — (4-9)
- Week 15 vs. Week 15 Falcons: Victory – The only other primetime game on the docket for the Raiders comes in Week 15 when they host Atlanta on Monday night. Antonio Pierce will prepare his players for this high-level clash enough to cause what could be considered a surprise for a home underdog. — (5-9)
- Week 16 vs. Week 16 Jaguars: victory – As last year taught us, it’s hard to trust the Jaguars at the end of the season. While Jacksonville may be more talented, the Raiders are the type of team that beats them down the stretch and steals the victory. — (6-9)
- Week 17 at Saints: Victory – Will Derek Carr still be at center at this point? Who knows. This is a very winnable game for Las Vegas, even on the road. It also wouldn’t be surprising if the organization placed an emphasis on this game to get the better of their former quarterback. — (7-9)
- Week 18 vs. Week 18 Chargers: Loss – Even though the Chargers are out of playoff contention at this point, I can’t see Harbaugh taking his foot off the gas at any point, so the same logic applies with Herbert simply being too much of a mismatch for the Raiders. — (7-10)
