With the light at the end of the tunnel coming down hard on what was much of a dream season for the Oakland Raiders, the team must now regroup, recover and prepare for next season.
The NFL announced the Raiders’ home and away opponents for the 2017 season on New Year's day.
And if the Oakland Raiders thought this was a dream season for them, they will need to pray for a miracle if they want to replicate this season's heroics starting in the fall.
The NFL as a whole has a lot to look forward to, the Raiders on the other hand are matched up against not one, not two, but five teams that made the playoffs this year.
The dates of each game for the 2017 season will be determined in April. A lot can be speculated after the Raiders capped off the season with 12 wins and a playoff appearance, something the organization as a whole has not been able to do since 2000.
Home Opponents: Denver Broncos, San Diego Chargers, Kansas City Chiefs, New England Patriots, Dallas Cowboys, New York Jets, New York Giants, Baltimore Ravens.
Away Opponents: Denver Broncos, San Diego Chargers, Kansas City Chiefs, Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Redskins, Tennessee Titans.
What I think: The Raiders, who not only have to figure out where they will play next season, along with where the team will find a permanent home, will have one of the most difficult schedules in the league next season.
Derek Carr and company will need to maneuver through a tough schedule that includes five teams that made the playoffs this season.
The good thing for Oakland is that key matchups against the likes of New England and Dallas will be played in front of a home crowd. Not only that, the team will be even more hungrier to get out there and prove this season wasn’t a hoax.
If indeed one of the five teams remaining were to win the Super Bowl this season, we can all expect the NFL to potentially stack the Raiders up against them in a season opener. Possibly an early AFC Championship game against the Patriots? The sensational Dallas Cowboys rookies of 2016 against an inform Derek Carr?
Regardless of what the schedule turns out to be, if the Raiders find a way to repeat this season’s performance with the strength of the 2017 schedule next year, look for them to be early Super Bowl favorites next season.
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