The Oakland Raiders travel to Seattle to face the defending Super Bowl champion Seahawks in a Week 9 match-up. The winless Silver and Black look to tally their first victory against a 4-3 Pacific Northwest squad, who most recently beat the Carolina Panthers.
The Raiders and Seahawks have a long history, playing twice per year when Seattle was a part of the AFC West. The two teams have met 53 times with the Raiders holding a 28-23 record in the regular season and are 1-1 in the postseason.
While Oakland has yet to notch a win, they are receiving high praise for the play of rookies QB Derek Carr and LB Khalil Mack. "He played great against us and we've seen nothing but that, really since [Raiders Interim Head Coach] Tony [Sparano] took over, just the emphasis of really trusting him, believing in him, giving him a chance to win the games," said Seahawks Head Coach Pete Carroll on Carr. "He's done a lot of marvelous stuff. He's shown touch, he's shown strong arm stuff, he's shown way down the field stuff, he's moving well and he looks very comfortable. He looks like a terrific prospect for the years to come and he's on it right now, he's got great numbers for the situation and I'm thinking he's darn good."
Mack was nominated for Defensive Rookie of the Month and dominated the line of scrimmage against the Cleveland Browns in Week 8. "I think he's really good. He jumps off the film. Every one of our coaches, when they break up and start looking at the Raiders and taking seriously what they're doing well, everybody comes back talking about him," said Coach Carroll on Mack. "He's almost unblockable and he's got a great motor. He's fast, he's tough, he's instinctive. We think he's an obvious factor."
Game action photos from the Raiders 41-31 victory over the Seattle Seahawks in Preseason Week 4 action.
Mack and Carr have taken it upon themselves to contribute and lead this team and elevate the play of those around them. "I feel like we have a responsibility. That's the reason they brought us here is to make a difference in any way, and make a positive difference in any way, I should say," said Mack. "Derek [Carr] is a bright young man; he's smart. He's a leader. He knows how to lead from the front and so we're just following his lead and I'm trying to pull my end from the defensive side of the ball and hopefully we can get everything going."
The rookies and their teammates have set their sights on the Seahawks and understand that they will be challenged by last year's champs. "I think our guys are excited about the fact that we get to measure ourselves again," said Head Coach Tony Sparano. "We do feel like we're getting better in that room over there. I think [this] gives us another chance to measure ourselves against a really good football team, on the road in their place. I think the guys will be excited and they'll be ready to go for that challenge."
The offense will be tasked with facing the "Legion of Boom" and a stout front seven. "They've got a great D-line, great linebackers; they're secondary is – they are who they are," said Carr. "So not just Sherman, but that whole defense – they're the defending Super Bowl champs. They've got a Super Bowl MVP running around. They've got two of the highest paid players at what they do. They've got a great D-line. They've got players all over the place."
Seattle's linebackers top the team statistics in tackles. "Those guys are good athletes. They run really good," said TE Mychal Rivera. "Obviously the team is a really good team because they won the Championship last year. In order to beat those linebackers I have to beat them with speed, and I have to be physical and just continue to stay with the scheme that we're trying to run."
Safeties Earl Thomas and Kam Chancellor have combined for almost 100 tackles and anchor the secondary of the 5th ranked defense in terms of yards allowed per game. Despite the Seahawks success, the Raiders intend to stick to their game plan regardless of who is covering whom throughout the game.
"We have confidence to throw the ball down field against anybody, we really do," said Coach Sparano. "Derek hasn't really been afraid to throw the ball down the field against anybody. You guys have asked me that question over and over again and we talked about that. But, they've had the ball thrown down the field on them and that's happened. I think in our league everybody does. If the opportunity comes up, we're going to certainly test it."
The Raiders defense is going to have to be fearless as well, facing a mobile quarterback in Russell Wilson and a powerful running back in Oakland-native Marshawn Lynch. "Marshawn Lynch and Russell Wilson are two Super Bowl-winning players and knowing that they have an explosive offense in certain senses, you have to be ready for it," said Mack. "I know guys are going to be looking at film and we're going to come in and do what we can to prepare to stop it."
Veteran DT Antonio Smith believes the Seattle style of offense is one of the most dangerous. "The league kind of got turned upside down with the reemergence of the mobile quarterback and the option game in the NFL," explained Smith. "I think that right now those are one of the most, all of those teams, are the most dangerous teams. It gives any defense, no matter what defense you run, it gives any defense problems. You have to find a way to keep those quarterbacks contained and at the same time stop the run."
Stopping Lynch is a challenge in itself, as he has scored six touchdowns so far this season. "I think the thing is with Marshawn is everybody has to hit him," said Smith. "Everybody has to try to tackle him. Marshawn, if you don't have two or three guys putting a hat on him, he's going to break tackles."
The Seahawks also have a talented group of wide receivers and are led by Doug Baldwin and Jermaine Kearse. "They're a pretty talented group – fast, physical – so we're going to have to be on top of our 'A' game," said S Brandian Ross. "Those guys like to throw the ball downfield and they have the ability to make you miss after the catch, so we have to be on our P's and Q's."
Take a look back at the Raiders vs Seahawks rivalry, regular and pre season, in pictures.
Marcus Allen in the 1983 AFC Championship.
RB Marcus Allen in 1988 at the Kingdome.
Hall of Fame RB Marcus Allen looks to get outside in 1985.
RB Marcus Allen in the 1983 Championship game.
Bo Jackson looks for some of his then-team record 221 yards rushing in 1987.
Safety Eddie Anderson returns an interception in 1988.
Ira Matthews returns a kick.
Harold Hart swoops in to make the tackle in 1978.
LB Rod Martin makes a tackle.
LB Ted Hendricks (83) makes the stop in 1990.
Current Raiders General Manager Reggie McKenzie stares down Seahawks QB Dave Krieg.
LB Bob Nelson (51) makes the tackle.
QB Jim Plunkett sets to throw in 1986.
DT Bill Pickel shows his hops trying to block a pass in 1984.
Hall of Famer Howie Long tracks down the ballcarrier in 1982.
LB Mike Jones finds the ball in hands during a 1995 match-up.
QB David Klingler sets to throw during a 1996 match-up.
RB Harvey Williams outruns the Seahawks defenders in 1998.
Hall of Fame DE Warren Sapp in 2006.
The 2011 match-up.
Jerome Boyd makes a tackle during a 2011 match-up.
WR Randy Moss (18) looks to make a move during the 2006 game.
Raiders Owner Mark Davis and General Manager Reggie McKenzie honor former Raider Derrick Jensen prior to the 2013 preseason match-up.
WR Darrius Heyward-Bey (85) gets loose for a big gain during the Raiders 2010 win over the Seahawks.
RB Darren McFadden (20) look for running room during the Raiders/Seahawks 2010 match-up.
The Raiders try to block a field goal during the 2010 match-up.
WR Darrius Heyward-Bey makes a nice sideline catch during a preseason match-up in Oakland in 2010.
RB Michael Bush tries to break a tackle in 2010.
CB Nnamdi Asomugha makes a nice defensive play during the Raiders 2010 regular season win.
Raiders Owner Mark Davis, Hall of Famer Willie Brown and Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll chat before the 2014 preseason game.
QB Derek Carr (4) barks out the signals during the 2014 preseason game.
Rookie G Gabe jackson gets his first taste of the rivalry during the 2014 preseason match-up.
RB George Atkinson III (34) finds some running room in the 2014 preseason match-up.
Seahawks and Raiders special teams go head-to-head during the 2014 preseason game.
RB Latavius Murray breaks a tackle during the 2014 preseason match-up.
TE Mychal Rivera celebrates his touchdown during the Raiders 41-31 preseason win in 2014.
DT Pat Sims during the 2013 preseason match-up.
Seattle's quarterback is aware of some of the Raiders stars on defense, including veteran FS Charles Woodson. "He's playing tremendous football," said Wilson. "Just to watch him back there, to watch Charles Woodson back there in his 17th year, I believe, in the league this year, he's one of the best players to every play the game and I've got a lot of respect for him and how he plays the game."
Mack is also earning the Super Bowl-winning quarterback's attention and respect. "Khalil Mack, he's doing a great job. He's playing so physical," said Wilson. "He's a rookie, he's so talented and he's all over the field, you can really notice that. Their whole defense, man, they can really play. They've got a lot of experience. They also have some guys that can fly around and get to the quarterback and they do a good job of stopping the run game. They're a physical defense. It's going to be a tough game for us. We're going to have to play our best football and go out there and just execute."
The Raiders are looking to get all three phases of the game to execute for all four quarters in order to get their first win. They will need to do so in one of the loudest stadiums in the National Football League.
"Yeah, it's pretty noisy," said Coach Sparano. "I've watched games sometimes; I've seen a couple of teams have double-digit false start penalties in that environment. They've got great fans just like we do and they're passionate about their team. It's loud, but we practice that way. It's not something that should be a distraction to us. We shouldn't use it as an excuse, a distraction."
Carr won't allow the noise to affect what the offense is able to do. "I've heard it gets really loud and I'm sure it well get really loud, but we're just going to go out there and do what we've been taught to do," said Carr.
Smith actually enjoys the loud environment. "I used to jam to their crowd. I played them two times a year when I was with Arizona so I'm familiar with that stadium," said Smith. "I like it."
The team is focused. "Our goal is to get a win," said Rivera. "We can't let any excuses or anything get in our way. That's what we're going to do."
The Raiders face the Seahawks at CenturyLink Field at 1:25 p.m. PT. Watch the game on CBS 5, listen on 95.7 The GAME or follow along on Raiders.com, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
