Seattle Seahawks veteran quarterback Drew Lock and Las Vegas Raiders rookie quarterback Fernando Mendoza will go tit-for-tat in Week 10, but the uncontrollable variables in their supporting casts will make it tough to evaluate each holistically. The more interesting matchup will be between Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald and his protege Klint Kubiak, who left his seat as Seattle’s offensive coordinator the day after last season’s Super Bowl win to become the head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders.
Kubiak started his Raiders tenure with three straight wins over the Miami Dolphins, the Los Angeles Chargers, and the New Orleans Saints. The Raiders lost the next four to a brutal stretch of scheduling — the Kansas City Chiefs, the New England Patriots,
the Buffalo Bills, and the Los Angeles Rams. Las Vegas got back on track to beat the New York Jets in Week 8, working their way back to 4-4, then dipped below .500 again last week with a three-score loss to the San Francisco 49ers. Their early wins proved that they aren’t the same Raiders of the last several decades, and at 4-5, they have a chance at their sixth winning season since 2000 and their first since 2021.
They’ve beaten the teams that have gone the wrong direction, and lost to the teams that look like serious contenders. This Raiders team will be looking for a statement win in Week 10. Kubiak will be looking to counter Macdonald for the first time in a game after doing it en route to becoming Super Bowl LX champions in practice, and vice-versa. The 5-4 Seahawks need to focus on winning each individual game before worrying about broader mid-season narratives, and have a chance to do that while visiting one of their oldest rivals dating back to their AFC days.
This will be the Seahawks’ first time playing a regular season game in Las Vegas. There are plenty of narratives abound. Just like the flashing, colorful lights all around the Las Vegas Strip, there are plenty of distractions. This is a tactical operation designed to get a win. It’s time for the Seahawks to get in, get what they need, and get out.
Follow seahawkswire.usatoday.com and @TheSeahawksWire on X for human analysis of all things Seahawks.
This article originally appeared on Seahawks Wire: Kubiak, Mendoza, Allegiant: Stories inbound for Seahawks in Las Vegas
