The Raiders recently used the NFL international series game in Mexico as one of their ‘home’ games for the year, sacrificing the supposed home field advantage they experience back in Oakland. They came out victorious in that encounter, beating the Texans.
Now think about the team’s perfect 5-0 record in road games and you’re looking at a Raiders team that travels well and plays well away from home. Why is this significant?
The Raiders games played at Alameda Coliseum lack the same kind of home field advantage that other teams have.
Divisional rivals Broncos and Chiefs both have stadiums that sell out every week and opposing teams never seem to perform quite at their peak because of this, which often sees the Chiefs/Broncos only lose one or two games at home each year. That doesn’t happen with Raiders games in Oakland.
By moving to Las Vegas there is no doubt that the team would experience the same kind of home field advantage of the top teams based on the excitement and interest from fans for the potential move. This year if the Raiders lose all their remaining road games they will go 5-3, and if you combined that with a 7-1 or even 6-2 home record you would see either an 11 or 12-win team, easily good enough to win the division and possibly book that all important first round bye.
Now the Raiders are starting to win, some people are getting nervous that a move will turn them back into a losing team. But looking at the stats, the opposite is true. The potential upside of a move to Vegas could well mean the Raiders becoming a league powerhouse for years to come.
Amen to that.