The Las Vegas Raiders travel to Seattle Sunday to take on the 6-4 Seahawks. Vegas is coming off a win against the Denver Broncos in overtime last week to improve to 3-7. Meanwhile Seattle had a bye week and should be fresh and ready to play.
The Raiders will look to give the ball to Josh Jacobs early and often as he enters the game with 930 yards rushing on the season. Jacobs rushed for 108 yards last week against the usually stout Broncos run defense.
Seattle’s defense has given up 1,409 yards rushing this season while also surrendering 4.6 yards per carry. Look for the Raiders to run the ball often, especially with Darren Waller and Hunter Renfrow still sidelined due to injury.
The Seahawks have some talent at the receiver position, with D.K. Metcalf and Tyler Lockett. They also have tight-end Noah Fant, who is slowly coming into his own as a pass catcher. Quarterback Geno Smith is having an outstanding season for Seattle throwing for 2,435 yards passing, 17 touchdowns, and only four interceptions. It’s easily the best season in Smith’s career.
The Raiders’ secondary has struggled all season long as the middle of the field seems to be always open when you play against Vegas. Seattle will look to get the ball downfield in the passing game and exploit some mismatches. Luckily for the Raiders, cornerback Nate Hobbs could be back from injury sooner rather than later as the club opened his practice window this week.
Las Vegas will need their secondary to step up as players like Trevon Moehrig and Anthony Averett will likely play prominent roles in Sunday’s contest. The defensive line can help the secondary by getting pressure on Smith, something they’ve struggled to do consistently in 2022.
Last week the Raiders had three sacks and numerous quarterback hits against the Broncos. Maxx Crosby had two sacks last week and has nine on the season. The Raiders only have 13 sacks total on the year. After Crosby’s nine, three other people have exactly one sack each. Generating pressure will be crucial for the Raiders if they hope to win this Sunday.
A fun matchup to watch will be Raiders Receiver Davante Adams against Seahawks rookie cornerback Tariq Woolen. So far this season, Adams has 64 catches for 925 yards and ten touchdowns. He’s been one of the few bright spots for the Raiders in an otherwise forgettable season.
Woolen has played outstanding for the Seahawks, with five interceptions and nine passes defended and is a big cornerback at 6’4. Adams is no stranger to physical DB’s trying to disrupt his routes, but Carr will need to be accurate in Week 12 otherwise it could be a long afternoon for the Silver and Black.
-LaMarr Fields
Twitter: @raiderway83
Photo: All-Pro Reels. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.