Early games in the Eastern time zones can tend to put teams from the Pacific time zone at a bit of a disadvantage. The bodily clock is a real thing and it can be enough to throw a team off their game enough to make a significant difference.
There is also simply the matter of travel time to and from games in the East.
The Raiders have three such games this season. Two of those game are back-to-back, and, as it turns out, that was by design…by the Raiders, not the NFL.
NFL broadcast exec Mike North says #Raiders were one of teams that requested back-to-back road games in the East (Week 8 at NO, Week 9 at Jax). Raiders will try to stay East between those two games to avoid an extra cross-country trip
— Josh Dubow (@JoshDubowAP) May 13, 2022
Yes, the Raiders requested those two early games in the East be back-to-back.
Both games are in the Southeast, first in New Orleans in Week eight and then in Jacksonville in Week nine.
This would not be the first time the Raiders stayed over the week to try and ease their transition in a back-to-back Southeastern trip.
Back in 2016, then head coach Jack Del Rio opted to have the team stay over in between games in Jacksonville and Tampa. They won both games.
That time they practiced the week in Orlando, home of ESPN’s Wide World of Sports. They could probably do the same this time, if they wanted, being that they’re going form New Orleans to Jacksonville.