OK, class, this kind of thing might become more difficult with a team like, say, the Broncos, but since the Raiders and Falcons have only done battle eleven times before, I think I can manage to hold your attention long enough.

There will be a test. Someday.

The teams first met on December 5, 1971.  After four consecutive seasons of advancing to the conference championship, the Raiders failed to make the playoffs in 1971 as back-to-back, late-season losses to Atlanta and the division-winning Kansas City Chiefs sealed their fate. 

The Falcons struck first on a 60-yard fumble return, and bolted out to a 17-3 halftime lead. A 31-yard touchdown pass from Daryle Lamonica to Fred Biletnikoff brought the Raiders to within 17-13 in the 3rd quarter, but Atlanta scored late to win it 24-13.

In what is surely the highlight of this short series, the Raiders and Falcons went past four quarters in this one, with the good guys prevailing, 37-34.  (This came one week after Oakland played its first overtime game in club history, a 26-23 win over Washington). The teams put up 34 first-quarter points combined, as Cliff Branch hauled in three touchdowns in the first fifteen minutes alone to give the Raiders a 21-13 advantage.  Thanks to two fourth-quarter touchdowns, the Falcons forged ahead, 34-31.  But George Blanda, in his 26th and final season, kicked two field goals, the second one in overtime, and the Silver & Black won its eighth AFC West title in nine seasons. 

Cliff Branch scored three touchdows in the '75 game.

Offense was again no problem for Oakland when the teams faced off in October, 1979. The Raiders rushed out to a 26-0 bulge, thanks to a pair of Mark Van Eeghan touchdowns (he'd add another in the fourth quarter), and Lester Hayes returned an interception 51 yards for a score, as Oakland romped, 50-19.

The Marcus Allen era was just getting started when the Raiders stormed into Atlanta in Week 2 of the 1982 season, and thumped the Falcons, 38-14. Allen scored twice- once by air, the other on the ground- as the Silver & Black put up points in every quarter.

Oakland scored thirty or more points for the fourth straight time against Atlanta, including 21 unanswered in the second half to secure a 34-24 win in December 1985. Four different Raiders reached the end zone: Marcus Allen, Frank Hawkins, Jessie Hester, and Dokie Williams.

Marcus Allen led the Raiders to two wins over Atlanta.

The 30-points or more streak came to a screech (as did the Raider's four-game dominance over Atlanta), in an ugly 12-6 loss in 1988. Now it was the Falcons turn to streak, and with a 21-17 triumph in the fourth week of the 1991 season, Atlanta made it two in a row.

But the Raiders got back on the right side of 30 in 1994- and into the win column- with a 30-17 romp. The Falcons actually led 10-0 before Jeff Hostetler and Tim Brown hooked up for a pair of scores.  Three years later, it was a different quarterback by the name of Jeff (George) who led Oakland on a victory lap.  In his return to Atlanta, he threw for 286 yards, including a 51-yard touchdown pass to James Jett. But this contest belonged to Napoleon Kaufman, who rushed for scores of 61 and 58 yards, en route to a 140-yard afternoon. It was an unattractive season for the Raiders (4-12), but they won this one, 36-31.

Atlanta quarterback Chris Chandler didn't care too much for George's run 'round the Georgia Dome:

"I don't understand why you've got to take a victory lap around the field. Just get the win and leave."

Jeff George relished his return to Atlanta in 1997.

The Raiders didn't need George on November 26, 2000, when they trounced the Falcons 41-14, in a game yours truly attended. Rich Gannon threw touchdowns of 28 yards (to Tim Brown) and 84 yards (to James Jett), as Oakland improved to 10-2 on the season, on its way to another AFC West crown.

The last time these teams met (2004), the Raiders took an early 3-0 lead, before Atlanta scored five consecutive touchdowns- four by T.J. Duckett- in a 35-10 mauling. The tables were turned for a team that had outscored the Falcons 266-153 (an average of 38-22) in their seven wins.

So all the Raiders need to do is put up 30 points on the board Sunday, and it's a lock.

Hey, anything's possible.