While we've known for months who the Oakland Raiders will play – thank you to the NFL scheduling formula for the assist on that – but now we know when those games will actually occur.

The 2019 regular season schedule was released Wednesday night, and now with Weeks 1-17 set in stone, let's take a look at a few observations from the gauntlet the Silver and Black will run 2019.

Open At Home – Yesterday during our Instagram Mailbag, someone asked me about my dream scenario to open the regular season, and I said it would be Monday Night Football against the Kansas City Chiefs. Well, I'll very nearly get my wish as the Silver and Black will start 2019 on Monday Night Football against the Denver Broncos.

I've long maintained that there's nothing better than divisional play, and when you throw in an AFC West clash on primetime it gets even better.

Let's have some fun.

Speaking Of Primetime – Head Coach Jon Gruden and the fellas will have two primetime matches – both at home, by the way – to give a national audience a chance to see what the Silver and Black have cooking in 2019.

The first one is the aforementioned Week 1 tilt against the Broncos, and the second comes Week 10 on Thursday Night Football versus Philip Rivers and the Los Angeles Chargers.

Back To England We Go – Let's forget about last year's journey across The Pond for just a second, shall we? Well, Coach Gruden and his squad will have a chance to redeem their 2018 effort on October 6, as they fly back to England to take on Khalil Mack and the Chicago Bears in Week 5 action at Tottenham Hotspur's new stadium.

Storylines aplenty will be flying headed into this game but I'll be honest, I'll be spending much of the week scheming on how to get to Manchester and scope out The Etihad.

The Bye – Following the Raiders journey abroad, they'll get a well-deserved break the following week, and personally, I love the timing of the bye in 2019.

Think about this, by the time the Silver and Black get a bit of reprieve from the arduous journey that is the NFL season, they'll have already played four preseason games, as well as five regular season games – including a trip to Europe – and with two more road games following their weekend off, I think a little rest and reprieve in mid-October will be just what the doctor ordered.

Road Warriors – Every year – regardless of which team you are – there are parts of the schedule that you like, and there are parts that you probably aren't super keen about. That said, I'll present the following without comment; after hosting the Kansas City Chiefs on September 15, the Raiders won't play another game at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum until November 3.

That's right, they'll go six weeks between true "home" tilts.

I have a feeling that's when we'll learn what the 2019 Oakland Raiders are really made of.

Vontaze Burfict sees some old friends – Prior to signing with the Silver and Black this offseason, the physical linebacker spent the first seven seasons of his career with Cincinnati Bengals, and while he won't be returning to "The Queen City" this season, he will get a chance to square off against his old team Week 11 in Oakland.

I don't care who you are, there are always a plethora of emotions going against a former team, so keep an eye on Burfict and see if he makes the Bengals regret letting him walk out the door in April.

The Home Finale – Each year, the home finale is always an emotional day, but I think there will be a little extra something in the air this season, when the Silver and Black wrap up the regular season against the Jacksonville Jaguars on December 15.

After Week 15, the Raiders end the season with back-to-back road games, but December 15 will be a day I know we all have circled on our calendar.