The Seattle Seahawks are closing out their old AFC West rivals reunion tour today with a road game against the Las Vegas Raiders. Seattle took care of the Chiefs and Chargers in convincing fashion, but narrowly lost to the Denver Broncos. Today's game will determine if the Seahawks finish with a winning record against their former division.
The Raiders may be old rivals, but this is a team the Seahawks now only play every four years or so. A lot has happened to both teams since they last squared off, which was a stunning 40-34 upset overtime loss at Lumen Field in 2022. Vegas bulldozed their way to 273 yards rushing and two touchdowns as a team. Now the Seahawks boast a legendary run defense, and the Raiders will be ushering in the new era with
Fernando Mendoza at quarterback.
I spoke with my friend and colleague Levi Damien, the managing editor over at our sister site Raiders Wire, to get a better idea about this Vegas squad. My questions and his answers are below.
What can we expect from Fernando Mendoza in his first ever start?
I expect he will come in fairly confident and be pretty smooth running Kubiak’s offense. And I expect him to make a couple nice throws that show why he was the number one pick. But I also expect the Seahawks defense to rattle him into a couple mistakes that will prove costly.
Vegas started red hot, now they’re ice cold. What has caused this drastic collapse?
Quality of opponents. Plainly put. Their first three games were against the Dolphins, Chargers, and Saints. And their only other win was against the Jets. When they face any decent teams, their defense gets run through and their offense can’t catch up.
Is there a position you think the Raiders have an edge over Seattle?
Tight end is the only position for the Raiders that is worth mentioning in terms of being better than their opponents. Brock Bowers is probably the best tight end in the league and his backup Michael Mayer is better than a lot of starters. In fact, it’s probably not even fair to call Mayer a backup considering he starts at tight end while Bowers often lines up outside as a receiver.
Who is a non-household name Raider we should know about?
There is no single player who really stands out who isn’t obvious (Bowers, Crosby, Linderbaum), so I will give you a couple who have played surprisingly well this season. On offense I’d say right tackle DJ Glaze has surprised. He had a terrible time last season under Pete Carroll’s son as OL coach. This year he’s doing pretty well keeping opposing rushers out of the backfield. On defense rookie safety Treydan Stukes has showed up well. He has a couple interceptions this season and quite a few nice pass breakups as well.
Who wins and why?
Don’t see how the Raiders win this one. Not against that Seattle defense. And I have yet to see the Raiders defense slow down even the most beleaguered offenses, so I expect Drew Lock to be able to do enough to lead the Seahawks to the win.Seahawks 27, Raiders 17
This article originally appeared on Seahawks Wire: Behind Enemy Lines: 5 things to know about the Las Vegas Raiders
