Few teams have given the Raiders fits over the length of their series with the Silver and Black like the Seattle Seahawks. The two former AFC West rivals will renew their preseason series, and will face off in the preseason finale for both teams in Oakland for the second year in a row this Thursday night at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. The Seahawks joined the NFL as an expansion team in 1976 in the NFC West and moved back to the NFC West during NFL re-alignment in 2002. The Seahawks moved to the AFC West in 1977 (1977-2001).
This 2017 preseason matchup marks the 12th consecutive year that the Raiders have concluded preseason play against the Seahawks. Seattle leads the preseason series 11-4, while the Raiders lead the all-time regular season series 28-24.
The Raiders have competed with the Seahawks throughout the past four decades and have battled for the AFC championship, and numerous playoff berths along the way.
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.
The teams first met in a 1976 preseason contest in Oakland, which the Raiders won 45-28. The Silver and Black made their first trip to Seattle during the 1977 preseason, with the Seahawks claiming a 12-10 victory. The Raiders and Seahawks would not meet again in the preseason until 1996. Since the series inception, the Seahawks have won 11 of the 15 preseason meetings with only six taking place in Oakland. Prior to last season, the Raiders had won the previous three preseason matchups in Oakland (2000, 2010, 2014).
One of the most significant match-ups in the preseason series between the two teams came in 2014, when Derek Carr led the Raiders to a 41-31 victory in the preseason finale while completing 11 of 13 pass attempts for 143 yards and three touchdowns, earning the starting quarterback job as a rookie in the process. Carr has started every regular season game except one ever since, and has developed into one of the better quarterbacks in the NFL.
Typically, the starters don't play much, if at all, in the fourth preseason game, and it serves as one last showcase for players on the bubble for making the 53-player roster. In previous years, one round of cuts would have already been completed and the Raiders would enter this game with 75 players. Thursday night the Silver and Black will field a 90-player roster with the one and only cut down scheduled for Saturday.
Geography usually plays a part in which teams face each other during the preseason, and Seattle is a natural fit for the Raiders, especially considering the history between the two as former division foes who met twice a year in the AFC West.
