Raiders 2015 record prediction game by game

The Raiders will be improved this year. There should be little doubt about that. We don't know how improved they'll be. Derek Carr enters his second season as the starting quarterback and Latavius Murray enters this season as the workhorse back after a late surge last season.

The major additions come in the receiving game with fourth overall pick Amari Cooper, third round tight end Clive Walford, and free agent addition Michael Crabtree, They also have a new center in Rodney Hudson, who makes the left three of the offensive line very solid.

On defense, the major additions are linebackers Curtis Lofton and Malcolm Smith, safety Nate Allen, and defensive tackle Dan Williams.

The major question marks this team faces come along the right side of the offensive line and in the secondary. The team lost right tackle Menelik Watson with a season ending Achilles injury and his replacement Austin Howard has not played well. Next to him at guard is converted tackle J'Marcus Webb who was a late free agent addition this offseason. The cornerbacks have been downright scary with DJ Hayden getting burnt regularly in camp and preseason and a lot of young, questionable depth. TJ Carrie has been the only steady presence among them.

The first team offense scored just one touchdown this preseason on a Latavius Murray run. While the pass rush looks to be vastly improved.

All times are Pacific

Week 1 vs Bengals

Sunday, Sept 13, 1:25 pm

People love to make fun of the Bengals' 0-4 playoff record the past four years and their quarterback Andy Dalton who managed to sneak onto the Pro Bowl roster last year. But there is the word playoffs in there. This is also the regular season where the Bengals went 10-5-1 last season and went 3-0 to start the season, while the Raiders went 0-10 to start the season and 3-13 overall. The Bengals are on another level to the Raiders until proven otherwise.

Result: Loss (0-1)

Week 2 vs Ravens

Sunday, Sept 20, 1:05 pm

Tough couple games to open the season. I expect the Raiders will be competitive in both games, but fall short. Ravens may have lost some pieces but they still can field a good team with Joe Flacco at QB and John Harbaugh on the sideline.

Result: Loss (0-2)

Week 3 at Browns

Sunday, Sept 27, 10:00 am

No team outside of Washington DC has been more of a train wreck this offseason than the Cleveland Browns. They look to be probably the worst team in football this season.

Result: Win (1-2)

Week 4 at Bears

Sunday, Oct 4, 10:00 am

Back to back road games as the Raiders head to Chicago. Jack Del Rio faces his former head coach and mentor, John Fox. That's not a good combination of things for the Raiders' chances in this one.

Result: Loss (1-3)

Week 5 vs Broncos

Sunday, Oct 11, 1:25 pm

The Broncos are still the best team in the AFC West and are always a Super Bowl contender when Peyton Manning is around.

Result: Loss (1-4)

Week 6 Bye week

Week 7 at Chargers

Sunday, Oct 25, 1:05 pm

The Raiders played a hard fought loss in San Diego last year, in part due to their defense as well as discovering Latavius Murray as their new feature back. The Raiders are improved this season on both sides of the ball and come into the game off of a bye week. And as usual, you can forget about any home field advantage. The Chargers never have that when the Raiders are in town.

Result: Win (2-4)

Week 8 vs Jets

Sunday, Nov 1, 1:05 pm

Sooner or later the Jets' quarterback situation was going to blow up in their faces. In this case it was Geno Smith's face blowing up on the end of the fist of one of the team's now former linebackers. Smith being out is actually bad news for the Raiders because his replacement, Ryan Fitzpatrick, has led teams to wins over the Raiders in the past two seasons, both in Oakland. In fact, he's never lost to the Raiders in three career games. The Jets have also beat the Raiders the past 2 seasons with Geno Smith at QB. Add in that Darrelle Revis is back with the Jets and Sheldon Richardson will have returned from his suspension by this game and you have the recipe for a disappointing loss in Oakland.

Result: Loss (2-5)

Week 9 at Steelers

Sunday, Nov 8, 10:00 am

East Coast trip. In Pittsburgh where the Steelers set records on offense last season. And Bruce Gradkowski is on the other sideline. Don't see the Raiders with a shot at winning this one.

Result: Loss (2-6)

Week 10 vs Vikings

Sunday, Nov 15, 1:05 pm

Teddy Bridgewater is decent. Although I think by this point in the season, he will have shown some of his weaknesses the Raiders can exploit. Adrian Peterson is back and he will be a handful. Though if anyone knows Peterson, it's his old offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave, now the OC in Oakland. He rode Peterson to a 10-6 record in 2012 with Christian Ponder at QB. With the Vikings coming to Oakland, I see the Raiders being able to pull out a gritty win.

Result: Win (3-6)

Week 11 at Lions

Sunday, Nov 22, 10:00 am

Too much firepower in Detroit for the Raiders to keep up. Calvin Johnson will have a big game against the Raiders' shaky secondary.

Result: Loss (3-7)

Week 12 at Titans

Sunday, Nov 29, 10:00 am

Rookie quarterback Marcus Mariota will have some growing pains, but by this point in the season, he should be well acclimated to his new offense just as Derek Carr had by this point last season. He also has a few big targets to throw to in Dorial Green-Beckham, Kendall Wright, Justin Hunter, and Delanie Walker. Add in new defensive guru Dick LeBeau and pass rusher Brian Orakpo and the Titans won't be a pushover. Then again, the Raiders added a couple receiving targets of their own in Amari Cooper, Michael Crabtree, and Clive Walford. The deciding factor here will be the run game. The Raiders win that battle.

Result: Win (4-7)

Week 13 vs Chiefs

Sunday, Dec 6, 1:05 pm

The Chiefs still have Jamaal Charles on offense, Justin Houston on defense, and Andy Reid at head coach. They added Jeremy Maclin who they hope can actually give them their first wide receiver touchdown since 2013. The Raiders have Latavius Murray, Khalil Mack, and their own former longtime head coach in Jack Del Rio. And they added receivers Michael Crabtree and Amari Cooper. And you can always throw the records out the window when these two play. The Raiders got their first win of last season in week 12 against the Chiefs. They once again play spoilers and take down the Chiefs.

Result: Win (5-7)

Week 14 at Broncos

Sunday, Dec 13, 1:05 pm

More of the same against the tough Broncos.

Result: Loss (5-8)

Week 15 vs Packers

Sunday, Dec 20, 1:05

The Raiders go from Peyton Manning to Aaron Rodgers in consecutive weeks. And Rodgers the Northern California native and Cal alum gets some home cooking. Similar result.

Result: Loss (5-9)

Week 16 vs Chargers

Thursday, Dec 24, 5:25 pm

In their first meeting the Raiders were coming off a bye. This time both teams are working with a short week coming off a home game. After being beaten in San Diego, the Chargers return the favor in Oakland on Christmas Eve.

Result: Loss (5-10)

Week 17 at Chiefs

Sunday Jan 3, 10:00 am

Games in Arrowhead in late December are not fun. And at this point of the season, the Chiefs are trying to get into the playoffs which means they will have a lot more to lose than the Raiders. The Raiders will put a scare into the Chiefs in this one, but ultimately the Chiefs will finish them off in a tight one and end the season with a four-game slide.

Result: Loss (5-11)

Final record prediction: 5-11