ALAMEDA -- The Raiders opened this season with two games at Oakland Coliseum. They won't play there again until Nov. 3, an extended stretch away from home.

Coach Jon Gruden doesn't like that, and hasn't since the NFL schedule was released back in April.

The Raiders play at Minnesota on Sunday, with a game at Indianapolis after that. They head straight for London following the Colts game to play a "home" game against Chicago. Then they get a bye week, with contests at Green Bay and Houston after that.

The Raiders sit at 1-1, and those five games will set the tone for their entire season. Not only is the travel adverse, but all four games come against legitimate playoff contenders within the NFC North and AFC South.

"We are still trying to understand how that happened, but we are going to have to deal with it," Gruden said. "We just have to showcase our mental toughness and deal with it. It's uncommon, maybe unprecedented, maybe unrealistic that this should ever happen in pro football. I'm not excited about it, but we'll adapt and do it the best we can."

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Quarterback Derek Carr's glass is always half full, and he tried to find positives in the brutal road stretch.

"I've always said I love playing on the road also because it's so loud that you're just in your own little bubble," Carr said. "You're so focused. You only hear your thoughts, you can't hear anything else. I've always enjoyed that. It's always fun to hit a first down and hear everyone quiet down. There's a different fun factor to it.

"We definitely miss the Black Hole playing at home, but you learn things over the years that help you on a travel schedule like the one we have. I think almost every year I've been here we almost lead the league in travel miles. Shout out NFL if you guys want to hook us up next time."

Jon Gruden still fuming over Raiders' brutal upcoming travel schedule originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area