Raiders, Seahawks to meet in London in October

ALAMEDA, Calif. — The Raiders officially will play in London next season.

For the third straight year and fourth time in five seasons, a “home” game on the franchise’s regular-season calendar will take place internationally. The past two years were in Mexico City. In Week 6 of 2018, the Raiders will face the Seattle Seahawks on Oct. 14 at the new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

It marks the Raiders’ first trip to London since meeting the Miami Dolphins at Wembley Stadium on Sept. 28, 2014. The Hotspur are an English Premier League soccer club. The NFL made the announcement at a Thursday news conference in London that was broadcast live on an internet video stream.

“The Raiders are a truly global brand, and we look forward to hosting the first NFL game in Tottenham Hotspur’s new stadium,” Raiders owner Mark Davis said in a statement.

Other dates and times for the regular-season schedule will be announced in April. It’s expected that the Raiders will receive a bye after the London game. They already know who and where else they’ll play the rest of the season.

Oakland will host the Kansas City Chiefs, Denver Broncos, Los Angeles Chargers, Cleveland Browns, Pittsburgh Steelers, Los Angeles Rams and Indianapolis Colts at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. The team will travel to face the Chiefs, Broncos, Chargers, San Francisco 49ers, Arizona Cardinals, Miami Dolphins, Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals.

Little can soften the loss of an Oakland-based game.

Helping mitigate it, no flight will be required for the matchup with the Niners at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California. The Raiders also have seen a home-type atmosphere on the road versus the Chargers. About 80 percent of fans comprised the crowd in the club’s past two trips to Southern California.

All three NFL teams awaiting a stadium to be built amid a relocation process are hosting an international game in 2018.

The Chargers will host the Tennessee Titans on Oct. 21 or Oct. 28 at Wembley Stadium. The Rams reportedly will host the Chiefs on a yet to be announced date in Mexico City at Estadio Azteca. Rounding out the NFL’s international series, the Jacksonville Jaguars will host the Philadelphia Eagles at Wembley Stadium on Oct. 21 or 28.