The Raiders played all three of their divisional opponents at least once during
prime time, and faced former division rival
Seattle Seahawks in a prime time game as well. They also had a chance of playing in up to two more prime time games by virtue of the NFL's newly implemented
flexible scheduling system. They made their debut on
NBC Sunday Night Football in Denver against the division rival
Broncos. They returned to Monday Night later in the season against the Seattle Seahawks where the Raiders played at
Qwest Field for the first time. On Christmas Week, the Raiders made their debut on the
NFL Network at home against the
Kansas City Chiefs.
Week 1: vs. San Diego Chargers at McAfee Coliseum, Oakland, California The Raiders started the regular season with a 27–0 shut-out home loss at the hands of the
San Diego Chargers on September 11, during the second game of a
Monday Night Football doubleheader on opening weekend. The team was shut out at home for only the second time in the franchise's history, the first one being a 17–0 loss to the division rival
Denver Broncos on October 4, 1981.
Week 2: at Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore, Maryland The Raiders traveled to
Baltimore, Maryland to take on the
Ravens. Oakland could only muster six points, however, all of them coming from Kicker
Sebastian Janikowski (34-yard field goal in the second quarter and a 51-yard field goal in the fourth quarter), while Baltimore maintained their lead throughout the game. With the loss, the Raiders fell to 0–2.
Week 4: vs. Cleveland Browns at McAfee Coliseum, Oakland, California Not even their Week 3 Bye could help out Oakland. Despite jumping out to a 21–3 lead and going into halftime ahead 21–10, and despite a touchdown by linebacker Sam Williams and two interceptions by cornerback
Nnamdi Asomugha, the Raiders failed to shut down the
Browns' offense, allowing 14 third quarter points. In the days after the game, coach
Art Shell said that Raider higher-ups responsible for deciding whether or not a challenge is worthwhile told him that one was not following a third and 16 play from the Cleveland Browns' 45-yard-line that went for fifteen yards in the fourth quarter. Shell said that after reviewing the telecast of the game, "I was miffed, because we should have challenged it."Following that, a fourth and 1 hand-off to LaMont Jordan was stopped in the backfield for a loss of two, resulting in a turnover on downs.
Week 5: at San Francisco 49ers at Candlestick Park, San Francisco, California The Raiders traveled across the bay to
Monster Park in
San Francisco to take on the
49ers. The 49ers got on the board first with an
Alex Smith to
Arnaz Battle touchdown pass midway through the first quarter. The Raiders responded with a 33-yard field goal by
Sebastian Janikowski. Janikowski then converted a 36 yarder early in the second quarter.
Randy Moss scored his 100th career touchdown reception on a 22-yard pass from
Andrew Walter, as the Raiders went into halftime with a 13–7 lead. The 49ers then went on to score 24 unanswered points in the second half, as Smith connected on touchdown passes with Battle once again, and
Maurice Hicks in the third quarter.
Joe Nedney converted a chip shot 19-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter. On the next Raiders play from scrimmage,
Melvin Oliver recovered a fumble for a touchdown, as Walter tried to lateral a pass to
LaMont Jordan, who let it hit the ground, and assumed it was an incomplete pass.
Marques Tuiasosopo hit
Courtney Anderson with a touchdown pass late in the game, but it was too little too late. Nedney completed the scoring with a 39-yard field goal.
Week 6: at Denver Broncos at Invesco Field at Mile High, Denver, Colorado The Raiders travelled to
INVESCO Field at Mile High in
Denver to face the division rival
Broncos on
Sunday Night Football. An excellent assessment of the Raiders' futility thus far in the season was provided by a reader of
ESPN.com's
Bill Simmons. In Simmons' NFL Week 6 preview, "Dave from Washington" submitted: "The Raiders suck so bad that they are 15-point underdogs to a team that scores 12.2 points a game. This has to be a sports first."[https://www.espn.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/061013 For the third time in the season, Oakland failed to score a touchdown, falling to the Broncos in a 13–3 loss. Surprising Week 6 victories by the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers and
Tennessee Titans left the Raiders as the NFL's sole winless team.
Week 7: vs. Arizona Cardinals at McAfee Coliseum, Oakland, California On October 22, 2006, the Raiders hosted the
Arizona Cardinals in
Oakland on the
Fox Television Network. In a game where former Raiders coach
John Madden received his
Hall of Fame ring in a pregame ceremony, the Raiders jumped out to an early 7-point lead after a Cardinal drive ended in a missed field goal. The long drive, capped by a
ReShard Lee rush for a touchdown was their second drive of the game. On another 1st Quarter Cardinal drive,
Derrick Burgess tipped a
Matt Leinart pass and the ball was intercepted by
Terdell Sands. This set up a one play drive in which
Andrew Walter tossed a 32-yard pass to
Randy Moss for their second touchdown. After the teams traded field goals in the 2nd quarter, the Raiders defense stiffened in the 3rd.
Michael Huff, the player the Raiders took instead of Leinart in April's draft, tackled running back
Marcel Shipp in the end zone for a safety. The safety was preceded by an incomplete pass and 2 consecutive sacks for losses by the Raiders defense. Andrew Walter finished with 17 of 30 for 260 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT and left the game with a mild hamstring injury. While containing the Cardinals to 9 points from field goals, the Raiders ended their 11-game losing streak dating back almost a year, to November 20, 2005, and finally got their first win of the season.
Week 8: vs. Pittsburgh Steelers at McAfee Coliseum, Oakland, California On October 29, 2006, the Raiders hosted the
Pittsburgh Steelers in
Oakland on
CBS. The color commentator for the game was former Raiders quarterback
Rich Gannon, with play-by-play announcer
Kevin Harlan. The game was all defense as the Raiders' and Steelers' offenses struggled to gain yardage. It wasn't until the 4th quarter when the Steelers fought to come back from a 7-point deficit and got their yardage total to over 300. Steelers QB
Ben Roethlisberger struggled to pass the ball, getting intercepted twice in the first quarter.
Fabian Washington got his first career interception and
Nnamdi Asomugha got his third, which he returned for a touchdown to give the Raiders a 7–0 lead. The Steelers put up 6 points on two field goals in the second quarter. The Raiders then moved downfield in the final two minutes of the first half. The drive seemed promising after Raiders QB
Andrew Walter completed a 19-yard pass to
Jerry Porter. It was Porter's first catch of the season in his first game of the season. However, the drive stalled and the Raiders settled for a field goal to end the half up 10–6. The Raiders moved downfield to start the second half, with the help of two Steelers penalties. The drive also stalled and the Raiders settled for another field goal for a 13–6 lead. Raiders middle linebacker
Kirk Morrison got his second interception of the season (and his career) later in the game. The Raiders offense completely struggled to move the ball and had several three and outs, mainly due to penalties and dropped passes (notably by
Randy Moss who got booed after his second dropped pass) and it looked like it would come back to haunt them as the Steelers moved down midway through the fourth quarter and it looked like they would surely tie the game. However, on third and goal, cornerback
Chris Carr would intercept Roethlisberger's pass and return it 100 yards for a touchdown. It was the second longest interception return in Raiders history. This gave the Raiders a 20–6 lead. However, they couldn't hold it long, as the Steelers quickly moved downfield and scored the only offensive touchdown of the game, a 25-yard completion to
Willie Parker. Despite the Raiders' offensive problems, they were on pace to have their first game without a turnover. That changed when Steelers LB
Joey Porter intercepted an Andrew Walter pass at midfield. The Steelers again moved to the red zone. However, the Raiders defense made an unbelievable effort and stopped the Steelers on four goal line situations giving the ball back to the Raiders offense with less than 2 minutes left. However a three-and-out gave the Steelers offense the ball back with 39 seconds left and a chance to tie the game. After a sack by Raiders DT
Warren Sapp, Big Ben attempted a
hail mary pass to
Nate Washington. The pass was complete, but Nate was tackled at the 4-yard line, short of the end zone as time ran out. Walter only threw 5-for-14 for 51 yards. His five sacks made the net yardage 17 yards. It was the Raiders lowest offensive yardage (98 yards) in history that they came out victorious. With the win, the Raiders won back-to-back games for the first time since 2005, which also occurred in Weeks 7 and 8. They are now 2–5 after starting the season 0–5. The Raiders are tied third in interceptions (10), doubling last year's total of 5 (an NFL record low in a 16-game season). However, they are tied dead last in turnover ratio with −9. The defense is ranked #5 in the NFL. Contrast with the offense, which is dead last. The offense failed to score a TD in four of their seven games. Interesting fact: It was the Steelers first visit to Oakland since December 1995. The Steelers defeated the Raiders 29–10. Coincidentally, the only touchdown the Raiders scored that game was also on an interception return. The Raiders move to 9–8 against the Steelers in regular season matchups. The Raiders are also now 4–2 (Since 2001) against opponents that were in the Super Bowl the previous season. Both losses came last year when they lost to the
New England Patriots and the
Philadelphia Eagles (both on the road). In 2004, the Raiders defeated the Super Bowl runner up
Carolina Panthers in Carolina, defeated the Patriots at home in 2002 and beat the
New York Giants at
Giants Stadium in 2001.
Week 9: at Seattle Seahawks at Qwest Field, Seattle, Washington Hoping to continue building off of their two-game win streak, the Raiders flew to
Qwest Field for a Monday Night showdown with the
Seattle Seahawks. In the first quarter, Oakland's woes continued to haunt them as QB
Seneca Wallace completed a 22-yard TD pass to WR
Deion Branch and kicker
Josh Brown kicked a 20-yard field goal. In the second quarter, Brown continued to make the Raiders visit terrible with a 25-yard field goal for the only score of the period. After a scoreless third quarter, Brown would put the game away with another 20-yard field goal. This game marked the first time in
Monday Night Football history that a team got shut out twice in one year. Also, QB
Andrew Walter got sacked 9 times and Oakland's overall offense was just 185 yards.
Week 10: vs. Denver Broncos at McAfee Coliseum, Oakland, California Trying to rebound from their Monday Night road loss to the Seahawks, the Raiders went home for an AFC West rematch with the
Denver Broncos. In the first quarter, the Raiders struck first. Following an interception by cornerback
Nnamdi Asomugha, RB
LaMont Jordan plunged in for a 1-yard TD run. The Broncos would respond with QB
Jake Plummer completing a 39-yard TD pass to
Javon Walker. In the second quarter, Oakland would regain the lead with kicker
Sebastian Janikowski getting a 55-yard and a 20-yard field goal. However, after a scoreless third quarter, Denver would retake the lead and win with Plummer completing a 1-yard TD pass to FB
Kyle Johnson and kicker
Jason Elam getting a 24-yard field goal. Despite a strong defensive effort, including two interceptions from cornerback
Fabian Washington, the Raiders lost the game and fell to 2–7.
Week 11: at Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri Trying to rebound from two-straight losses, the Raiders flew to
Arrowhead Stadium for a fierce AFC West fight with the
Kansas City Chiefs. For this game, QB
Aaron Brooks fully recovered from his earlier injuries and returned to the starting lineup. In the first quarter, Chiefs RB
Larry Johnson got a 5-yard TD run, while the Raiders responded with kicker
Sebastian Janikowski getting a 41-yard field goal. In the second quarter, Oakland had the Kansas City on the run with Janikowski kicking a 36-yard field goal and Brooks completing a 2-yard TD pass to TE
Courtney Anderson. In the third quarter, the Chiefs came within three points with kicker
Lawrence Tynes getting a 37-yard field goal for the only score of the period. In the fourth quarter, Johnson delivered the death blow with a 1-yard TD run. With the loss, the Raiders fell to 2–8. File:061119Raiders-Chiefs01.jpg|The game in week 11 File:061119Raiders-Chiefs02.jpg|Kansas City on offense
Week 12: at San Diego Chargers at Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego, California Trying to end a three-game skid, the Raiders flew to
Qualcomm Stadium for an AFC West rematch with the
San Diego Chargers. After a scoreless first quarter, RB
ReShard Lee helped the Raiders strike first with a 1-yard TD run. The Chargers would respond with RB
LaDainian Tomlinson with a 4-yard TD run. In the third quarter, Oakland got the lead with QB
Aaron Brooks completing a 2-yard TD pass to rookie WR
John Madsen for the only score of the period. However, in the fourth quarter, San Diego took control for the win, as Tomlinson threw a successful 19-yard TD pass to TE
Antonio Gates on an HB Option. Afterwards, Tomlinson would end the game with a 10-yard TD run. With the loss, the Raiders fell to 2–9.
Week 13: vs. Houston Texans at McAfee Coliseum, Oakland, California Trying to end a four-game losing streak, the Raiders went home for a Week 13 fight with the
Houston Texans Offensive Coordinator Tom Walsh had been demoted and John Shoop was promoted to help ignite the struggling offense. In the first quarter, Oakland trailed early with DB
Demarcus Faggins returning a fumble 58 yards for a touchdown, along with the score of the period. In the second quarter, the Raiders climbed back into the game and into the lead with RB
Justin Fargas' 3-yard TD run, along with MLB
Kirk Morrison returning a fumble 35 yards for a touchdown. In the third quarter, Oakland's lead vanished with RB
Wali Lundy's 3-yard TD run for the only score of the period. In the fourth quarter, the Texans wrapped up the game with kicker
Kris Brown nailing a 42-yard, a 47-yard, and a 39-yard field goal. The Oakland Raiders secondary (which is ranked #1 in the
NFL) held the Texans to −5 yards passing, yet the Raiders were unable to pull out the win. With their fifth-straight loss, the Raiders fell to 2–10.
Week 14: at Cincinnati Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio Trying to snap a five-game losing streak, the Raiders flew to
Paul Brown Stadium for a Week 14 fight with the
Cincinnati Bengals. On the third play of the game, QB
Carson Palmer was intercepted by cornerback
Nnamdi Asomugha, only for the Raiders to fumble the ball on the next play from scrimmage. In the first quarter, the Raiders trailed early as QB
Carson Palmer completing an 8-yard TD pass to WR
Chris Henry, while RB
Rudi Johnson got a 1-yard TD run. In the second quarter, following another interception by Asomugha, Oakland managed to get on the board with kicker
Sebastian Janikowski getting a 33-yard field goal for the only score of the period. In the third quarter, Cincinnati's dominance continued with Rudi getting a 6-yard TD run, while Palmer hooked up with WR
T. J. Houshmandzadeh for a 20-yard TD strike, which was followed up with a missed PAT. In the fourth quarter, the only form of a comeback the Raiders could do was QB
Aaron Brooks completing a 5-yard TD pass to WR
Ronald Curry. With their sixth-straight loss, the Raiders fell to 2–11.
Week 15: vs. St. Louis Rams at McAfee Coliseum, Oakland, California Trying to end a six-game losing streak, the Raiders went home for an interconference fight with the
St. Louis Rams (who, just like the Raiders, used to play in
Los Angeles, California). After a scoreless first quarter, Oakland's struggles continued as Rams' kicker
Jeff Wilkins nailed a 24-yard and a 34-yard field goal. In the third quarter, the Raiders' problems continued with RB
Stephen Jackson getting a 4-yard TD run for the only score of the period. In the fourth quarter, St. Louis wrapped up the game with Jackson getting a 19-yard TD run. With their seventh-straight loss, the Raiders fell to 2–12. This marked the third time this season that the Raiders got shut out.
Week 16: vs. Kansas City Chiefs at McAfee Coliseum, Oakland, California Trying to end a seven-game skid, the Raiders played their final home game of the season against the
Kansas City Chiefs in an AFC West rematch on Saturday night. In the first quarter, Oakland struck first with kicker
Sebastian Janikowski getting a 25-yard field goal. However, the Chiefs responded with QB
Trent Green's 6-yard TD pass to WR
Eddie Kennison, along with kicker
Lawrence Tynes' 29-yard field goal. In the second quarter, the Raiders responded with Janikowski's 37-yard field goal. Unfortunately, K.C. RB
Larry Johnson got a 1-yard TD run. In the third quarter, Oakland managed to get the only score of the period with Janikowski's 53-yard field goal. However, the Chiefs wrapped the game up in the fourth quarter with Tynes' 28-yard field goal. With their eighth-straight loss, the Raiders fell to 2–13. Also with the loss, they lost 13 games for the first time since 1961 and it even marked the first time in Raiders history that they lost eight consecutive games to one team (the Chiefs). Some of causes to Oakland's loss came from five turnovers (two interceptions and three lost fumbles), continuous penalty problems (6 penalties for 45 yards), and a year-long lack of offense.
Week 17: at New York Jets at Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey Trying to end their disastrous season on a high note, the Raiders flew to
The Meadowlands for a Week 17 fight with the
New York Jets. In the first quarter, more of Oakland's lacklusterness flowered as Jets QB
Chad Pennington completed a 1-yard TD pass to TE
Chris Baker for the only score of the period. In the second quarter, the Raiders got their only score of the game with kicker
Sebastian Janikowski nailing a 35-yard field goal. Afterwards, offensive struggles continued to haunt the Raiders as kicker
Mike Nugent nailed a 35-yard field goal. Then, in the second half, New York wrapped up the game Nugent's 22-yard field goal in the third quarter, along with RB
Leon Washington's 15-yard TD run and Nugent's 35-yard field goal. With the loss and the Lions win over the Cowboys, Oakland ended up at 2–14, along with the first pick in the
2007 NFL draft. == References ==