2015 Oakland Raiders Schedule: Full Listing of Dates, Times and TV Info

All 32 teams enter the 2015 NFL season with optimism and identical 0-0 records, so the Oakland Raiders can take solace in that fact even if they aren't quite ready to contend for the playoffs.

A new head coach in Jack Del Rio has taken the helm for the Silver and Black, and he'll be dealing with a roster featuring a ton of moving parts and new additions.

The patchwork job general manager Reggie McKenzie attempted prior to last season backfired in a big way. It's therefore likely a year still remains before Oakland makes a big move in the NFL hierarchy.

Now that the full schedule has been released through NFL.com, let's take a closer look at the Raiders' makeup, analyze their most pivotal matchups and figure out how they might fare in 2015 with those factors in mind.

Week	Date	Opponent	Time (ET)	TV
1	Sunday, Sept. 13	vs. Cincinnati Bengals	4:25 p.m.	CBS
2	Sunday, Sept. 20	vs. Baltimore Ravens	4:05 p.m.	CBS
3	Sunday, Sept. 27	at Cleveland Browns	1 p.m.	CBS
4	Sunday, Oct. 4	at Chicago Bears	1 p.m.	CBS
5	Sunday, Oct. 11	at Denver Broncos	4:25 p.m.	CBS
6	—	BYE
7	Sunday, Oct. 25	at San Diego Chargers	4:05 p.m.	CBS
8	Sunday, Nov. 1	vs. New York Jets	4:05 p.m.	CBS
9	Sunday, Nov. 8	at Pittsburgh Steelers	1 p.m.	CBS
10	Sunday, Nov. 15	vs. Minnesota Vikings	4:05 p.m.	Fox
11	Sunday, Nov. 22	at Detroit Lions	1 p.m.	CBS
12	Sunday, Nov. 29	at Tennessee Titans	1 p.m.	CBS
13	Sunday, Dec. 6	vs. Kansas City Chiefs	4:05 p.m.	CBS
14	Sunday, Dec. 13	at Denver Broncos	4:05 p.m.	CBS
15	Sunday, Dec. 20	vs. Green Bay Packers	4:05 p.m.	Fox
16	Thursday, Dec. 24	vs. San Diego Chargers	8:25 p.m.	NFL Network
17	Sunday, Jan. 3	at Kansas City Chiefs	1 p.m.	CBS

Analysis

By most accounts, quarterback Derek Carr had a promising rookie campaign in 2014. It's hard not to be excited about that. Carr has amazing arm talent, a natural football savvy, plenty of competitive fire and underrated athleticism that ought to be utilized more.

Latavius Murray has all the makings of a breakout star at running back. He flashed well when he took up the feature role last year, but a horrendous offensive line prevented both him and Carr from showing their true upside.

Carr seems to feel comfortable with Del Rio at the helm, as he expressed in an April 6 press conference (via Rebecca Corman of the Raiders' official website):

"

The first thing I thought is, "Oh, he played before." That's the first thing I thought. Really, with our whole coaching staff, we'd win a lot of fights with our coaching staff. The first thing I thought was that, and then the second thing was, "This guy really cares about this organization." That was really my one takeaway. I said I could really tell that this guy cared about me as a person, and I could really tell that he cared about the Raiders winning Super Bowls.

"

Del Rio can help the defense only to a degree. Depth in the secondary is limited, though Charles Woodson looms as a veteran leader, and linebackers Sio Moore and Khalil Mack figure to be franchise fixtures for years to come.

A top draft pick can be used to bolster the defense, though Carr could use whomever Oakland feels is the best receiver in the draft at No. 4 overall. It's an intriguing position for McKenzie to be in, but he must nail the pick.

If Carr really is a franchise QB, he figures to make a big leap this year. James Jones, Rod Streater and Andre Holmes may provide just enough in the receiving corps for Carr to produce at a high level, provided Murray can pound the rock to keep opponents honest.

Pivotal Matchups

Brian Bahr/Getty Images

The division games should be fascinating. San Diego tends to get off to slow starts, while Kansas City has been squarely in the playoff picture since coach Andy Reid's arrival in 2013.

Then, the Denver Broncos, whom Del Rio served as defensive coordinator for before heading to Oakland, have legendary QB Peyton Manning playing perhaps his final year in the NFL. Manning may not have enough left in the tank to still be elite.

So many variables exist with all of the teams involved. The argument could be made that Carr has the most natural passing ability at this point than any of his counterparts.

None of the road trips are particularly terrifying, so it's up to the Raiders to hold court at home. They have tough tests versus Green Bay, Minnesota, Cincinnati and Baltimore. The toughest among those figures to be the Packers.

Superstar Green Bay signal-caller Aaron Rodgers leads a dynamic passing attack that will test ex-Packer Woodson and Co. on the back end in Oakland. The Black Hole makes for a tough place for even the most elite opponents to play, and the change in time zone helps the Raiders' cause to surprise.

Immediate improvement should be expected under Del Rio. It just won't be enough for Oakland to win enough of its marquee games, which will result in only a slight improvement from 2014, with a record of approximately 6-10.