The NFL's leading rusher, RB Darren McFadden, and the Raiders head to Buffalo to face the Bills for the first time since 2008. AP Photo.
DATE: Sunday, September 18, 2011, 10 a.m. PT | SITE: Ralph Wilson Stadium, Orchard Park, N.Y.
THIS WEEK: The Oakland Raiders, members of the American Football Conference Western Division, are now in their 52nd season of pro football competition. The Silver and Black face a fellow original American Football League member Buffalo Bills in the second regular season contest of the 2011 season.
TELEVISION: This week's game will be televised on CBS, with Kevin Harlan handling play-by-play, and former NFL player Solomon Wilcots as color analyst. The game will also be broadcast in the Bay Area on KPIX Channel 5. The game will also air in Sacramento on KOVR Channel 13 as well as on KHSL in Chico, KION in Monterey and KJEO in Fresno.
RADIO: The game will air live on Raiders Radio Network originating on KITS LIVE 105.3 FM, the Silver and Black's flagship for the multi-state Radio Network. Greg Papa and Raiders two-time Super Bowl winning head coach Tom Flores will man the booth for the 14th straight year. The radio pregame and postgame shows will feature Raider Legends Atkinson and David Humm.
SPANISH RADIO: Raider games in the 2011 airs in Spanish in the Bay Area on Radio station KCNL 104.9 FM with Fernando Arias and Ambrosio Rico handling announcing duties.
SERIES: The game marks the 36th league meeting between the Raiders and Bills. The Raiders hold a 19-16 advantage over Buffalo since 1960 when the teams began pro football competition as original members of the American Football League. The teams played twice a year from 1960-65 and 1967-68 and have played twice in the postseason—in the 1990 AFC Championship Game and the 1993 AFC Divisional Playoff contest.
CONNECTIONS
RAIDERS: LB Trevor Scott is from Potsdam, N.Y. and went to the University of Buffalo...RB Michael Bush played with Bills C Eric Wood at Louisville... S Tyvon Branch is from Cicero, N.Y. and played at Connecticut with Bills WR Marcus Easley...TE Brandon Myers played with Bills TE Scott Chandler at Iowa...T Joseph Barksdale played with Bills LB Kelvin Sheppard at Louisiana State...WR Louis Murphy played with Bills WR David Nelson at Florida...S Jerome Boyd and Bills S Jairus Byrd played alongside each other at Oregon...WR Jacoby Ford played with Bills RB CJ Spiller at Clemson...LB Rolando McClain and rookie DT Marcel Dareus played alongside each other at Alabama...DE Lamarr Houston played with Bills DB Aaron Williams at Texas...Strength and conditioning Brad Roll served in the same capacity for the Bills from 2004-05...Defensive line coach Mike Waufle is from Hornell, N.Y.
BILLS: LB Kirk Morrison was drafted by the Raiders in 2005 and played five seasons for the Silver and Black...Morrison is an Oakland native and attended Bishop O'Dowd High School...T Erik Pears played for the Raiders from 2009-10...DT Kellen Heard was on the Oakland practice squad during the 2010 season...OL Andy Levitre is from Los Gatos and attended San Lorenzo Valley High School...WR Steve Johnson is from San Francisco and attended Rodriguez High School in Fairfield...Head coach Chan Gailey was offensive coordinator for the Dolphins from 2000-01 while Brad Roll was on the coaching staff...Defensive backs coach George Catavolos coached alongside Raiders offensive coordinator Al Saunders at the University of Tennessee in 1982...Catavolos as well as defensive coordinator George Edwards coached with Hue Jackson with the Redskins from 2002-03...Bills co-head strength and conditioning coach John Gamble coached with Brad Roll for the Dolphins from 1996-2003...Bills outside linebackers coach Bob Sanders was also on the Dolphins staff with Gamble and Roll from 2001-03.
LAST WEEK: K Sebastian Janikowski and P Shane Lechler combined to tie records and RB Darren McFadden rushed for 150 yards as the Raiders defeated the Broncos, 23-20, at Sports Authority Field at Mile High in Denver in 2011 Regular Season Week 1 action.
NEXT WEEK: The Raiders return home to prepare to host the New York Jets at O.co Coliseum in the 2011 home opener on September 25. The following week, Raiders face their fourth straight original American Football League opponent, taking on the New England Patriots on Sunday, October 2. The contest versus the Patriots will also mark the second straight contest versus a team that qualified for the postseason last year.
