5 Potential Trap Games on Oakland Raiders' 2015 Schedule

As we continue to slowly but surely make our way toward another season of Oakland Raiders football (kickoff is less than 100 days away!), and as the roster continues to take shape, we can start to look a little more closely at the 2015 schedule.

There's no way to determine at this time which games on the schedule will be "must-win" games. There's also no way to accurately tell, especially with a rebuilding team like Oakland, which games the team "should" win.

However, there are five games on the schedule that the Raiders can win. The Raiders now have the talent and the coaching, and these five opponents are beatable as long as Oakland plays to its full potential.

Oakland's on-field product will obviously be important. But just as important will be the team's mental approach to the matchups. When a team finds itself in a game that it can win but isn't mentally prepared, it can turn into a frustrating missed opportunity. This is something Oakland can't afford.

Here's a look at five potential trap games. These are games that the Raiders can win, but they'll find themselves on the wrong end of the scoreboard if they aren't mentally ready.

Week 1: Vs. Cincinnati Bengals

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Can a Week 1 game be considered a must-win game?

Usually, no. But if you're the Raiders, it's about as close as it can get. Consider this: Since 2003, the Raiders have gone a combined 1-11 in Week 1. And as every member of Raider Nation knows, Oakland hasn't posted a winning record since 2002.

It might seem like a bit of a stretch, but there's at least some correlation between these two facts in Oakland. It doesn't mean that a defeat to open the season will automatically doom the team for the rest of the year. But for a team trying to make its way out of a 12-year slump like the Raiders, it's absolutely crucial to start the season on the right foot.

Things haven't just been bad since 2003. They've been historically bad. They've been 56-wins-and-124-losses bad. This is a unique circumstance. And in this unique circumstance, Week 1 becomes especially important.

Fortunately, this isn't just another year in Oakland. The roster is filled with young, up-and-coming talent. The Raiders will have a lot of positive momentum heading into the Week 1 matchup, and rightfully so. It'll be crucial for the team to not lose that head of steam in the first game of the season.

The Cincinnati Bengals were a playoff team last season, but they also have a glaring flaw that can be exploited by Oakland: quarterback Andy Dalton. When Dalton is on, he looks like the real deal. But when he's off, it seems like he's purposely passing to the other team.

With the pressure the Raiders should be able to apply with Khalil Mack, Sio Moore, Justin Tuck and Mario Edwards Jr., this could turn into a feast for the Oakland defense. Cincinnati wide receiver A.J. Green can be a beast, but it won't matter if passes aren't going his way.

This is a winnable game as long as the front seven forces Dalton into his characteristic mistakes.

For the first time in a long time, the Raiders are actually on the verge of finally turning the page on this dark, depressing chapter in franchise history.

So, will the Week 1 matchup against the Bengals be a must-win game? In the standings, no. But psychologically for Oakland, it'll be pretty close.

Week 3: At Cleveland Browns

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Who's playing quarterback for the Cleveland Browns in 2015? If you don't know the answer to that question, don't feel bad. The Browns don't know the answer, either.

Will it be Johnny Manziel? Josh McCown? Connor Shaw? Some guy named Thaddeus Lewis?

For the Raiders, it doesn't matter. Unless the Browns find a legitimate NFL starting quarterback on the streets of Cleveland sometime between now and Week 3 of the season (there certainly isn't one currently on the roster), this should be the first opportunity of the season for the Oakland front seven to really tee off on an opponent.

The Browns are essentially a quarterback-less team right now, with no clear leader at the position. That, along with the season-long suspension of wide receiver Josh Gordon, will only make Cleveland's offense weaker.

Cleveland is better on defense than on offense, but not by much. Last season's loss to the Browns was one of the most frustrating because the game was there for the taking. But the Raiders, in large part due to the uninspired play-calling on offense, weren't able to take the game.

That won't be an issue in 2015 under head coach Jack Del Rio and offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave. The new coaches, along with a more experienced Derek Carr and an offense with more weapons, should be able to get the job done.

When the Raiders visit Cleveland, they'll be the better team. "The Raiders are better than the other team" isn't something that's been true in a long time, but that'll be the case against the Browns. Maybe not by a huge margin, but better nonetheless.

This is an especially dangerous game for the Raiders because it's the first game on the schedule that they should win. A key sign that the team is really improving will be when it wins games that it's supposed to. This will be Oakland's first chance to prove that progress really has been made.

Week 8: Vs. New York Jets

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Oakland opened up last season with a frustrating 19-14 road loss to the New York Jets. The game was there for the taking, but the Raiders could never make that one extra play to turn the game in their favor.

On paper, the Jets are a much better team on both sides of the ball. Offensively, they've added playmaker Brandon Marshall to go along with Eric Decker to form what could be a good wide receiving corps. Defensively, they've improved an already solid defense by adding cornerbacks Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie and defensive lineman Leonard Williams, among others.

But they still have one major weakness, and that's at quarterback. Unless you're in the minority that thinks Geno Smith will finally become an effective NFL starter, he's still a bad game waiting to happen.

This game is going to be a test of consistency and patience for Oakland. Defensively, the Raiders have to contain Smith to the pocket and get him to the ground at every opportunity.

The more rattled he gets, the longer he has to play from the pocket, the more likely Smith is to make a bad decision. This will reduce the work the secondary will have to do and nullify the potential game-breaking ability of Marshall and Decker.

The Raiders couldn't get to Smith often enough in their last meeting, and this led to Smith finishing 23-of-28 for 221 yards and a touchdown. Smith wasn't that good, but Oakland let him play like it.

On offense, the Raiders have to be patient. Nothing will come easy against this Jets defense. But over the course of the game, the Raiders now have the talent to make just enough plays and score just enough points. The key will be avoiding self-defeating mistakes like turnovers. And when a rare opportunity to make a play does appear, the Raiders can't afford to miss.

The Jets look like a team that could once again be all defense, no offense. Perhaps the New York Post's Bart Hubbuch said it best when he tweeted, "The bad news for the Jets is that they'll have to win every game 6-3. The good news for the Jets is that they have the defense to do it."

This will be a great test of Oakland's maturity. Can the Raiders string together four complete quarters of consistent play? If they do, this will be a close win. If they don't, we'll see a repeat of last season when the Raiders allowed Smith to look like an effective NFL quarterback.

Week 12: At Tennessee Titans

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Like the Week 3 matchup against the Cleveland Browns, Oakland's Week 12 trip to take on the Tennessee Titans will be a test to see whether the Raiders really have turned the corner.

Given that this game takes place later in the season, a big factor will be the development of rookie quarterback Marcus Mariota.

There's no way to definitely predict how Mariota will be doing by Week 12. But what we do know is that he's playing on a Titans team with no weapons on offense that should cause too much concern. The one exception is rookie wide receiver Dorial Green-Beckham, but it remains to be seen whether he has the maturity to succeed at the next level.

The story's the same for the Titans on the defensive side of the ball. They had the 27th-ranked defense last season, and nothing was done this offseason to suggest that the unit will drastically improve.

What the Titans do have in Mariota is an extremely mobile quarterback, something that's given the Oakland defense fits. Containing him will negate the entire Tennessee offense, but letting him consistently get out of the pocket could lead to a big performance from the rookie.

The biggest problem could be the travel. The Raiders have struggled mightily on cross-country trips in recent years. But this might be the most winnable game on Oakland's schedule in 2015. As long as the team plays to its potential, executes the game plan and avoids major mistakes, Oakland should be able to impose its will on the Titans and win comfortably.

Week 13: Vs. Kansas City Chiefs

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After a disheartening, depressing start to the 2014 season, the Raiders finally broke into the win column with an inspiring Week 12 win at home against the Kansas City Chiefs. Raider Nation collectively breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed like it might be a sign of a positive end to the season, and it actually was. The Raiders followed their 0-10 start with a 3-3 finish to the season.

But one of those final losses came in Week 15 against the same Chiefs. While the Raiders outplayed Kansas City in the first meeting, they were nowhere near as effective the second time around. The Chiefs dominated through four quarters en route to an easy 31-13 win.

The Week 13 matchup this upcoming season is important for Oakland for two reasons.

First, the Raiders have to start making their way out of the fourth spot in the AFC West. Of the three other teams in the division, the Chiefs are the most beatable. That's not to say that Kansas City is an easy matchup, but the improvement has to start somewhere. And for Oakland, it has to start with beating the Chiefs.

Second, this'll be the first meeting between the two teams in 2015. It'll be late in the season, which means it'll be especially important in the standings both for the playoffs and within the AFC West. Good teams need to be able to win tough and important games later in the season. This will be a golden opportunity for Oakland to do just that.

The offseason addition of wide receiver Jeremy Maclin will certainly make the Kansas City offense more dangerous. But Alex Smith is still the quarterback, and he's still more of a "protect the ball and don't lose the game" type of quarterback. This is something the Raiders can once again exploit.

What the Raiders can't do is remember last season's visit from Kansas City and just expect a similar result. Oakland can win this game, but what it has to focus on is executing and doing what it takes to win.

Unless otherwise noted, all stats taken from Pro-Football-Reference.com and NFL.com.

Which games do you see as Oakland's biggest trap games in 2015? Share your thoughts in the comments section below and on Twitter @BrianJ_Flores.