Things don’t get much easier on the road for the Raiders, with four of their opponents having made the playoffs in 2025.
There’s a handful of rematches on the table for Las Vegas – having faced their AFC West opponents, the AFC Champion New England Patriots and Cleveland Browns in 2025. The Raiders pulled a win out of Gillette Stadium in the season opener, defeating the Patriots 20-13 before New England went on to win the AFC East and make it to the Super Bowl.
A big-time matchup on the schedule will be a trip back to The Bay to face their longtime rival San Francisco 49ers. Despite being plagued by injuries, the 49ers managed to win 12 games last season, ultimately being knocked out in the divisional round by Kubiak’s Seahawks 41-6. It’s also worth mentioning that the Raiders new head coach was their passing game coordinator during their 2023 Super Bowl run, and his brother Klay is currently their offensive coordinator.
Like the Raiders, two of these opponents are also going into 2026 with a new head coach. The Arizona Cardinals hired Mike LaFleur, who’s most recently served as offensive coordinator for the New York Jets and Los Angeles Rams. In 2025, his Rams offense ranked first in the league in total yardage (6,709) and points scored (518), with quarterback Matthew Stafford winning AP NFL Most Valuable Player.
The Cleveland Browns hired Todd Monken, the former Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator. In three seasons under Monken, the Ravens ranked in the top 12 of points scored and yardage with quarterback Lamar Jackson with NFL MVP in 2023.