Scheduling plays a huge role in the outcome of every NFL season. So the Athlon NFL editors will spend the next month dissecting each and every week of the 2012 slate for all 32 teams in the league.

Oakland Raiders 2012 Schedule:

Week 1: San Diego (Mon.)

Week 2: at Miami

Week 3: Pittsburgh

Week 4: at Denver

Week 5: BYE

Week 6: at Atlanta

Week 7: Jacksonville

Week 8: at Kansas City

Week 9: Tampa Bay

Week 10: at Baltimore

Week 11: New Orleans

Week 12: at Cincinnati

Week 13: Cleveland

Week 14: Denver (Thur.)

Week 15: Kansas City

Week 16: at Carolina

Week 17: at San Diego

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- Fans have to go back to 2007 to find the last time that Week 1 on the NFL season didnât end with an AFC West Monday night divisional showdown. The Raiders will begin the season on primetime TV as the second Monday night game by hosting the San Diego Chargers. As a fan without a dog in the hunt, I am a huge proponent of the late night West Coast divisional battles to wrap-up the seasonâs first weekend. The last three have been decided by one touchdown or less with a grand total of 14 points separating victory from defeat.

- Strangely, the Raiders wonât face the Chargers again until the season finale as San Diego bookends the Black and Silver this year. After the Chargers visit Denver in Week 4 and Kansas City in Week 8, the Raiders wonât face an AFC West foe until Week 14. Three of the final four games, however, will come against divisional opponents: Denver (home), Kansas City (home) and San Diego (road). Since there is no dominate team in the West this year, Oakland merely needs to hang around .500 until the final quarter-leg of the season â where it could win a division crown with a few upsets.

- Maintaining an even win-loss record will be impeded by the round robin with the AFC North. Having to visit Baltimore and Cincinnati in November is never an easy task and hosting Pittsburgh early in the year certainly poses a big challenge. Cleveland at home in Week 13 is the only âeasyâ game in the bunch. A 2-2 record against the North would likely be looked upon as a big success.

- In crossover play, the Raiders will face the NFC South. But this shouldnât be nearly as difficult as facing the AFC North. New Orleans is reeling and could struggle on defense this year and has to face Oakland on the road. Tampa Bay makes one of the longest trips in the NFL when it comes to the Bay Area. And the road trip to Carolina is a flip of the coin. A trip to Atlanta looks like the only sure loss in the group.

- Oakland will play a road game every other week of the season until the final five weeks. In Week 13 the Raiders will begin a three-game homestand, something most teams will not have in 2012, when it hosts Cleveland, Denver and Kansas City. The Denver game comes on a short week on a Thursday and likely led to the schedule makers giving Oakland three straight at home. To compensate, the NFL has forced the Black and Silver to play back-to-back road games to end the year. A 3,000-mile trip to face Cam Newton in Carolina wonât be easy and a quick jaunt down to San Diego to finish the year could carry heavy implications.

- The bye week comes at an opportune time between two road games against excellent quarterbacks in Denver and Atlanta. With the Steelersâ game leading into the battle with Peyton Manning, the bye week should fall at just the right time for the new coaching staff following what should be two brutally physical contests.

- A road trip to Miami and a home game against Jacksonville are the two floating games on the slate this year. That has to have Raiders fans excited about their chances to compete for a wild-card berth.

Fantasy Focus: Here is some advice for owners targeting Darren McFadden, Denarius Moore or Carson Palmer: Donât give up on your guys. The first month will be tough with games against four quality defenses before the off week. But with Jacksonville, Kansas City, Tampa Bay, Cleveland, Carolina and Kansas City left after Week 7 (if Run DMC can survive), the Raiders' fantasy options should have solid second halves.

-by Braden Gall

Follow @bradengall

2012 Athlon Sports NFL team-by-team schedule analysis:

AFC East

Buffalo Bills

Miami Dolphins

New England Patriots

New York Jets

AFC North

Baltimore Ravens

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Pittsburgh Steelers



AFC South

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Tennessee Titans

AFC West

Denver Broncos

Kansas City Chiefs

Oakland Raiders

San Diego Chargers

NFC East

Dallas Cowboys

New York Giants

Philadelphia Eagles

Washington Redskins

NFC North

Chicago Bears

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Minnesota Vikings



NFC South

Atlanta Falcons

Carolina Panthers

New Orleans Saints

Tampa Bay Buccaneers