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          NFL Nation

          Tough start to Oakland Raiders' schedule could have them in early hole

          Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images
          • Paul Gutierrez, ESPN Staff WriterApr 18, 2019, 01:04 AM
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              Paul Gutierrez joined NFL Nation in 2013 and serves as its Las Vegas Raiders reporter. He has a multi-platform role - writing on ESPN.com, television appearances on NFL Live and SportsCenter, and podcast and radio appearances. Before coming to ESPN, Gutierrez spent three years at CSN Bay Area as a multi-platform reporter, covering the Raiders and Oakland Athletics as well as anchoring the SportsNet Central cable news show. Gutierrez votes for the Baseball Hall of Fame and is also a member of the Professional Football Writers of America and currently serves as the PFWA's Las Vegas chapter president. He is also a member of the California Chicano News Media Association and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists. Gutierrez has authored three books: Tommy Davis' Tales from the Dodgers Dugout, 100 Things Raiders Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die and If These Walls Could Talk: Stories from the Raiders Sideline, Locker Room and Press Box with Lincoln Kennedy. You can follow Paul on Twitter @PGutierrezESPN
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          The NFL has released its 2019 regular-season schedule. Here's a look at what's in store for the Oakland Raiders.

          Game-by-game prediction

          Raiders reporter Paul Gutierrez is predicting a 7-9 finish:

          Sept. 9 (Monday): vs. Denver, Win

          Sept. 15: vs. Kansas City, Loss

          Sept. 22: at Minnesota, Win

          Sept. 29: at Indianapolis, Loss

          Oct. 6: vs. Chicago in London, Loss

          Oct. 13: Bye

          Oct. 20: at Green Bay, Loss

          Oct. 27: at Houston, Loss

          Nov. 3: vs. Detroit, Win

          Nov. 7 (Thursday): vs. L.A. Chargers, Loss

          Nov. 17: vs. Cincinnati, Win

          Nov. 24: at N.Y. Jets, Win

          Dec. 1: at Kansas City, Loss

          Dec. 8: vs. Tennessee, Win

          Dec. 15 vs. Jacksonville, Win

          Dec. 21/22: at L.A. Chargers, Loss

          Dec. 29: at Denver, Loss

          Strength of schedule: 1, .539

          Breakdown

          Sure, business might be, as new receiver Antonio Brown likes to say, boomin’, with 20 new players on the Raiders’ roster for their final season in Oakland, California. But only two games in prime time? With outsized personalities with likewise contracts on the roster, with one foot in the East Bay and the other in Las Vegas, you’d think even a team coming off a 4-12 pratfall would warrant more national attention. After all, Jon Gruden is still the coach and Mike Mayock is learning the general-manager gig on the fly. In fact, Oakland has seven 1 p.m. ET start times in 2019, the most for any West Coast team since 2002, according to ESPN Stats & Information research. The Raiders might get homesick after playing their first two games on the baseball dirt infield, because after that Sept. 15 game against the Chiefs, they will not play in Oakland again until Nov. 3. If the Raiders can survive the early-season grind, they could get on a nice run in November and early December. Even if four of their final six games are also on the road. Maybe the NFL schedule-makers are punishing the Raiders for taking so long to find a home for 2019?

          Khalil Mack over tea and crumpets?

          No, the Oakland faithful will not get a chance to bid a farewell, fond or otherwise, to their 2016 NFL defensive player of the year, who was traded to Chicago for a haul of draft picks in the midst of his holdout last Sept. 1. Instead, the Raiders will face off against Mack in the new Tottenham Hotspur soccer stadium in London, a city where the Raiders have not fared well in losing to Miami and Seattle by a combined score of 55-17 in 2014 and 2018, respectively. Raiders quarterback Derek Carr always insisted he was faster than Mack. We’ll see if he can elude him across the pond.

          Oakland finale redux

          You thought last Christmas Eve was bittersweet, the Raiders beating an ancient rival in the Broncos in what was thought to be the final game in Oakland? This time, the Jaguars get to play in an emotional cauldron Dec. 15 in what will be -- we mean it this time -- the final Raiders game in Oakland ... unless, of course, their Las Vegas stadium is not ready for the 2020 season. Team officials, though, fully expect to be in Southern Nevada by next year. The Raiders called the Oakland Coliseum home from 1966-81 and have again since 1995.