Key Momentum Factor Could Decide Raiders' 2026 Season
The Las Vegas Raiders' 2026 season will be determined by the runs they will go on.
Raiders Will Go on Runs
The Raiders have several tough stretches on their 2026 schedule. They also have opportunities to soften the blow of some of those challenging stretches. Although they face the likes of the New England Patriots, Buffalo Bills, and Los Angeles Rams, they also have manageable games.
Bad Runs
The Raiders' schedule includes several sets of games that could negatively impact their season. Most notably, Las Vegas faces the New England Patriots, Buffalo Bills, and Los Angeles Rams in consecutive weeks early in the season. That could very well be a 0-3 or 1-2 stretch for Las Vegas.
They get a road matchup against the New York Jets following their matchup against the Rams. However, the Raiders are not yet good enough to say how difficult the Jets game will be. They then face the San Francisco 49ers on the road and the Seattle Seahawks at home.
The Raiders will then face the Denver Broncos and the Cleveland Browns in consecutive weeks, before heading into their Bye Week. Both of those games will be on the road. That is a brutal eight-game stretch early in its first season under head coach Klint Kubiak, with plenty of other new pieces.
Those eight games could see the Raiders lose consecutive games multiple times. Las Vegas' schedule will prove it is a long, 17-game season, as they will have both positive and negative runs at different points.
Good Runs
It is hard to find many positives from having one of the most difficult schedules in the league. However, the Raiders have a chance to go on a few positive runs of their own. The Raiders' first four games are very winnable. They have a chance to start off strong before things get difficult.
Las Vegas starts the season with a Week 1 home matchup against the Miami Dolphins and two consecutive away games against the Los Angeles Chargers and the New Orleans Saints. Their fourth game of the season will be against the Kansas City Chiefs, minus Patrick Mahomes.
It would be unreasonable to expect the new-look Raiders to start the season 4-0, but they do have four very winnable games early in the season. Even if they only win two of those games, especially if they are the two AFC West matchups, Las Vegas would be in a position to withstand the next eight games.
A potential 2-2 start would give them breathing room over the next eight games. A win against the Jets would give them three wins. They had three wins all of last season. As challenging as their schedule may be, they have a chance to finish with more wins than they have in a while.
Even at 3-7, with potential losses to the Patriots, Rams, Bills, 49ers, and Seahawks, they could split their two games before the Bye Week against the Denver Broncos and the Cleveland Browns, entering the Bye Week at 4-8. That would tie the most wins they have had in the past two seasons.
They would entertheir Bye Week at 4-8, with five games remaining, three of which are at home in consecutive weeks. Of those five games, three are AFC West games, two of which are at home. The final five games of the season give the Raiders a chance to end the season on a run.
The Raiders could win two, three, or four of those last five games and end the season with upwards of seven or eight wins and potentially push for a Wild Card spot. Think about that. Looking at the Raiders' schedule, they could see a stretch of five or six losses in an eight-week span.
However, they could also start and end the season on a run and potentially push for a Wild Card spot. It is not out of the question that they can beat the Dolphins, Saints, Jets, Cardinals, Titans, a Mahomes-less Chiefs, the Browns, and steal a win or two elsewhere on the schedule.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/raiders/onsi as Key Momentum Factor Could Decide Raiders' 2026 Season.
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This story was originally published May 18, 2026 at 9:00 AM.