Raiders hoping to break bye week curse

The Oakland Raiders' 1-3 record suggests a bye week is coming at the right time, but the team's terrible history in games post-bye week suggests otherwise.

Taking time off hasn't done the Raiders any good for the past decade. The Raiders have lost the first game after a bye week each of the past nine seasons, as noted by Steve Corkran on Twitter. It doesn't get any easier either as the team looking to extend that hapless streak is the 4-0 Atlanta Falcons.

Still, this bye week couldn't come at a better time following the Raiders blowout loss to the Denver Broncos in Week 4. Last year, the Raiders lost to the Broncos following their bye week.

The last time the Raiders won following a bye week was in 2002, when they beat the Tennessee Titans 52-25 following a Week 3 bye. Prior to the current nine year losing streak, the Raiders had won games after the bye six years in a row from 1997-2002.