After capturing their first road contest of 2022, the Las Vegas Raiders make a trip to Lumen Field to battle the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday.
Seattle had their four-game winning streak snapped in Germany by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers two weeks ago (21-16), while Vegas ended a three-game losing skid by defeating the Denver Broncos 22-16.
Match preview
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In the NFL, one defeat can completely change the complexion of your season, and the Seahawks discovered that in their last outing.
A defeat to the Bucs moved them from a comfortable lead atop the NFC West to them being in a tight two-way race for the division with the San Francisco 49ers.
Their defensive line failed to get much pressure in that outing, with zero sacks, while allowing Tom Brady time in the pocket.
While they failed to tackle the G.O.A.T. behind the line of scrimmage, the Seahawks have done a pretty good job in that department this year, with 27 sacks and a 29.4% pressure rating, which is pretty impressive when considering their blitz percentage is a mere 16.1.
Pete Carroll has seen his secondary put together some solid pass coverage on opposing receivers, holding them to a sub-90 rating (86.6), but they have not been as good at defending physical tight ends, allowing them a rating of 112.5 and five touchdowns.
We have not seen them start as quickly as their coach would like, with Seattle failing to score in the opening quarter of two of their previous three games and putting up just three points in the first 15 minutes of their encounter against the Arizona Cardinals.
All year long, their receivers have benefitted from a quarterback who always seems to have the perfect touch on his passes, with the highest completion percentage in the entire NFL.
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Many raved about the passing threat the Raiders would pose this season, and that group delivered last Sunday when needed, in overtime, as Josh McDaniels's crew finally got back in the win column.
That was only the second time this season that Las Vegas had managed to put up 400 yards or more of net offence in a game, though last weekend was against a much more formidable defensive unit in Denver when compared to the 28th-ranked defence of the Houston Texans.
On Sunday, the Raiders defence allowed fewer than 100 yards on the ground for the first time since early October when they held the Broncos to just 85 yards.
Containing opposing pass catchers has not been easy for them in 2022, with the Raiders allowing a league-worst 106.3 rating for the year, with quarterbacks completing 71.5% of their throws against the Raiders secondary.
While those numbers are not encouraging, they did not allow a touchdown pass to the Broncos last week, and they sacked Russell Wilson three times, bringing that total up to 13 for the season.
When they can get the ground game going, that has opened up the opportunity for them to throw deep balls down the field, as the Raiders got 109 yards rushing last Sunday.
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Team News
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Seahawks QB Geno Smith has the highest completion percentage in the league (72.8), throwing just four picks all season while connecting with Marquise Goodwin and Tyler Lockett for major scores in a loss to the Bucs.
Jordyn Brooks collected a massive 11 tackles in that encounter as he is tied for second with the Atlanta Falcons Rashaan Evans with 106.
Michael Jackson may be as good as they get in the pass coverage, as the Seahawks defensive back is holding a 71.1 rating against in 2022, defending eight passes, Tariq Woolen has five interceptions on the year with nine passes defended plus 34 tackles, DK Metcalf is averaging 4.8 receptions a game while Kenneth Walker has a solid 4.9 yards per carry average this season.
Ryan Neal has a sprained ankle, Cody Barton is dealing with a sore foot, and LJ Collier missed practice on Wednesday with an illness, as did D'Wayne Eskridge because of a hand injury.
Davante Adams had another splendid outing for the Raiders last weekend with seven grabs for 141 yards, and two touchdowns, including the game-winner.
Derek Carr, threw for 307 yards and two scores, Josh Jacobs ran for 109 yards on 24 carries and Daniel Carlson hit a 25-yard field goal with 25 seconds remaining to force overtime.
Maxx Crosby has easily been their best pass rusher this season, posting two sacks, his eighth and ninth of the year versus Denver last week, Foster Moreau was limited to just one catch on three targets for 33 yards, while Denzel Perryman and Crosby combined for 10 tackles.
Kolton Miller saw limited time at practice in midweek due to a sore shoulder/abdomen, while Luke Masterson was also shaken up because of a rib injury.
Head To Head
Overall, the series between these two has been relatively split, with the Raiders holding a narrow lead of 29-26, though Seattle won the last outing 27-3 in 2018 when Russell Wilson found Lockett, David Moore and Jaron Brown for touchdown catches.
Before that, there was a close outing in 2014 when Marshawn Lynch ran for a pair of Seattle touchdowns while Stephen Hauschka kicked three field goals, helping Seattle win 30-24.
The Raiders' last victory in this series happened in 2010 while in Oakland when Sebastian Janikowski kicked four field goals, and Michael Bush averaged over five yards per carry as they destroyed the Seahawks 33-3.
We say: Seattle Seahawks 27-24 Las Vegas Raiders
The Seahawks have some of the best corners in the game who are capable of defending wide receivers, while the Raiders secondary have struggled to contain opposing passing attacks all season, and outside of Crosby, there is not a great pass rush either, so expect Smith to be on target to his receivers throughout this contest.
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Joel Lefevre
