Chargers 2012 schedule begins and ends with Raiders

City News Service

The NFL released its 2012 regular season schedule today, and for the Chargers, the slate opens and closes with the Raiders.

The first game for the Bolts is Monday, Sept. 10, in Oakland. The last of the 16 games is at home, in a Raider re-match, on Sunday, Dec. 30.

Other noteworthy dates include:

-- Sept. 16, the home opener against the Tennessee Titans;

-- Oct. 15, another Monday Night Football appearance at Qualcomm Stadium against the Denver Broncos and new quarterback Peyton Manning;

-- Oct. 21, the bye week; and

-- Dec. 23, a road game against the New York Jets and former Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow.

“From our team’s standpoint and our fans’ standpoint, I don’t know that you could put together a more exciting schedule when you look at the number of great teams we play and when we play them,” head coach Norv Turner said. “It presents some great opportunities for our team.”

He said the schedule should add to player motivation when their off- season training program begins next week.

The Chargers will appear twice on Monday Night Football, twice on nationally televised Sunday evening games, and one Thursday contest to be shown on the NFL Network -- Nov. 1 against the Kansas City Chiefs at Qualcomm Stadium.