Oakland Raiders: Five potential bellweather games to circle on the calendar

The Oakland Raiders aren’t going to have it easy schedule-wise this year, so let’s look at some of the key games of the upcoming season.

With the announcement of the Oakland Raiders 2018 schedule, everybody has been poring over it, scrutinizing it like it holds the key to eternal life somewhere in all of the dates and times.

And of course, some are already hammering out their way-too-early, week by week wins and losses prediction pieces – not that we won’t, mind you, that piece isn’t ready to be published just yet though.

Oakland’s schedule presents an interesting mix of challenges. There are, of course, the inherent challenges posed by teams within the division. And suffice it to say, the Raiders haven’t done exceptionally well against the division in the Derek Carr era.

That is most definitely a trend they will need to reverse on the double if they want to make a run at the postseason.

But with games against AFC Central foes like the Ravens, Steelers, Browns, and Bengals, throw in NFC West teams like the Cardinals, Rams, and Seahawks, and then add games with the Colts, and Dolphins, the Raiders are not going to have an easy road to hoe if they want to get back on the winning track.

A lot of folks are going to get caught up in the strength of schedule. For the record, Oakland’s opposnets this year had a combined record of 97-111, making their strength of schedule this year .346 – or, one of the league’s three-easiest schedules.

Some will argue that with just three games coming against playoff teams last year (Chiefs, Rams, Steelers), six games against teams with records below .500 (Broncos, Browns, Colts, Bengals, Dolphins, 49ers), and just six games against teams who had records above .500 (Chiefs, Chargers, Ravens, Steelers, Seahawks, Rams) in total, that Oakland’s road to the playoffs couldn’t be easier.

Hogwash.

Strength of schedule is just a myth. Or rather, the importance of the strength of schedule and its bearing on the coming season is a myth.

With coaches and players moving around the league like tumbleweeds in a windstorm every year, a team that may have been at the bottom in 2017, could very well be at the top in 2018 – just look at the Rams, who went 4-12 in 2016, and then won their division in 2017 with an 11-5 mark.

Every game is important, but some may serve as interesting bellweathers to take note of. Not that they’re somehow more important in the grand scheme of things, but games that can perhaps, give some indication of how things are going, and more importantly, how things may unfold as the season progresses.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at a few of the potential bellweather games in Oakland’s upcoming schedule.