The complete 2018 NFL schedule will be released at 5 p.m. tonight, but Matt Maiocco and Scott Blair of NBC Sports Bay Area already have a little tidbit for fans. The highly anticipated matchup between the San Francisco 49ers and Oakland Raiders at Levi's Stadium is going to be scheduled for Thursday Night Football during Week 9 on November 1 at 5:20 p.m.
Source: #49ers vs #Raiders scheduled for prime time (@MaioccoNBCS & @BairNBCS) https://t.co/oF9rHQdnY2 pic.twitter.com/mLsvAFRGhW
— 49ers on NBCS (@NBCS49ers) April 19, 2018
The matchup between the two teams will be the final one during the regular season before the Raiders depart the Bay Area for Las Vegas. The 49ers will not play the Raiders again during the regular season until 2022 following this year's matchup.
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The 49ers and Raiders have not met during the regular season since December 7, 2014 – a game San Francisco lost 24-13 at the Oakland Alameda Coliseum. However, the 49ers won the previous three regular-season matchups between the two teams.
Aside from Bay Area bragging rights, the game also features Jon Gruden's return to coaching. He received a 10-year, $100 million contract to leave the comfort of his ESPN job and rejoin the team that traded him to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2002, where he won a Super Bowl against the Raiders in his first season.
Gruden last coached an NFL game in 2008.
At the NFL Scouting Combine, Gruden was asked if he looks forward to having a matchup against 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan and San Francisco, where he served as an offensive assistant in 1990.
"I look forward to matchups with everybody," Gruden answered. "I've got a lot of respect for Kyle and the way that he's gone about his career. Obviously, he's been fortunate to have a dad like he has and to have some experiences as a young man that have really fast-tracked him to the success that he's had."
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