The Raiders will open their 2012 regular season against the visiting San Diego Chargers in a prime-time Monday night game on Sept. 10 at 7:15 p.m. on ESPN, the NFL announced April 17.
Oakland will make its fourth appearance the past five seasons in the second game of the league's season-opening Monday night doubleheader. The Raiders are 1-3 in their previous four Week 1 Monday night games.
The Raiders also host a prime-time Thursday night game against the Peyton Manning-led Denver Broncos on Dec. 6 at 5:20 p.m. on the NFL Network.
To see the 2012 Raiders regular-season schedule, please click here
Other highlights from the Raiders’ 2012 schedule:
The Raiders play six 2011 playoff teams — Atlanta Falcons, Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, Denver Broncos, New Orleans Saints and Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Raiders host the Steelers on Sept. 23, Pittsburgh’s first regular-season game in Oakland since 2006. The Raiders host the Saints on Nov. 18, New Orleans’ first regular-season game in Oakland since 2004.
For the first time in franchise history, the Raiders play five road games in the Eastern Time Zone — Miami (Sept. 16), Atlanta (Oct. 14), Baltimore (Nov. 11), Cincinnati (Nov. 25) and Carolina (Dec. 23).
Quarterback Carson Palmer returns to Cincinnati when the Raiders play at the Bengals on Nov. 25. Palmer spent his first seven NFL seasons with the Bengals before being traded to the Raiders in October 2011. Former Raiders coach Hue Jackson was hired by the Bengals after being fired by the Raiders following the 2011 season.
The Raiders end their season with consecutive road games against Carolina (Dec. 23) and San Diego (Dec. 30) following three straight homes games against Cleveland (Dec. 2), Denver (Dec. 6) and Kansas City (Dec. 16).
The Raiders are tied with the Miami Dolphins for 18th in the 2012 NFL Strength of Schedule. Oakland's opponents went 127-129 in the 2011 season.
The Raiders have their bye on Oct. 7 — the team's earliest since 2008, which also came in Week 5.
