More on the Raiders
WEEK 12
• Who: Raiders (3-7) at Seahawks (6-4)
• 1:05 p.m.
• Where: Lumen Field, Seattle
• TV: KLAS Channel 8, CBS
• Radio: Raider Nation Radio 920 AM, KOMP 92.3
• Betting line: Seahawks -3.5, over/under 47.5
Josh Jacobs’ legendary season now has its cornerstone moment.
The Raiders’ fourth-year running back saw a wide-open hole on the team’s second offensive possession of overtime, and pounced on it, made one cut and sprinted to the end zone. It was an 86-yard touchdown to lead Las Vegas to an upset 40-34 victory in overtime over the Seahawks at Lumen Field.
Jacobs, who was questionable to play with a calf injury, set a career high with 229 rushing yards and also had 74 receiving yards on six catches. The game-winning touchdown was his second score of the day, following a 30-yard run in the second quarter.
Quarterback Derek Carr also had a big day, bouncing back from two first-quarter interceptions to throw for 295 yards and two touchdowns on 25-for-36 passing.
Davante Adams tied Jacobs as his top receiver with 74 yards on seven catches. After a back and forth game, the Raiders forced overtime when Carr hit tight end Foster Moreau with a five-yard touchdown on the first play back from the two-minute warning in the fourth quarter.
Las Vegas got the ball first in overtime, but Daniel Carlson missed a 56-yard field goal. Seattle then went three-and-out when Maxx Crosby rushed quarterback Geno Smith, who had 328 yards on 27-for-37 passing, to force a third-down incompletion.
Crosby also had a third-down sack at the interception, keeping up his unbelievable season. He was great but the game will be remembered for Jacobs, who led the Raiders like he’s done so often this season.
This is a developing story. Check back to lasvegassun.com later for full coverage and read below for live updates from throughout the game.
The Raiders will need a late comeback to win a second consecutive game.
With 5:37 remaining, Seattle just scored the first points of the fourth quarter with an 18-yard touchdown pass on a rollout from quarterback Geno Smith to running back Travis Homer. The Seahawks lead 34-27.
Seattle had a short field after Las Vegas committed a turnover on downs around midfield. On a fourth-and-1 play, a toss play to Josh Jacobs was stuffed for a one-yard loss to give the Seahawks the ball back.
Seahawks and Raiders tied in third quarter
The Seahawks are scoring touchdowns; the Raiders are kicking field goals.
The last two drives for each team have ended the same, and it’s got the score tied at 27-27 with five minutes remaining in the third quarter. The Raiders have squandered an eight-point lead because of an inability to finish drives with a touchdowns.
Daniel Carlson kicked a 25-yard field goal to cap the latest drive, which went for 73 yards before bringing up a 4th-and-1 from the Seattle 7-yard line.
Seahawks score on opening drive of the second half
The Seahawks stomped on the Raiders’ defense to start the second half.
Seattle went 75 yards on seven plays for the second straight drive to go up 27-24 on Las Vegas. Kenneth Walker scored on a 14-yard touchdown rush where virtually everyone on the field, including quarterback Geno Smith, helped push him into the end zone. With the way the Raiders’ defense is playing, the offense might have to go score-for-score with the Seahawks to keep up.
Let’s see if they’re capable.
Raiders lead by three at halftime
Las Vegas got down to the 13-yard line on its last drive before halftime, and then quit trying.
The Raiders settled for a 36-yard field goal from Daniel Carlson instead of trying for a touchdown to go into halftime up 24-20. Derek Carr threw for 150 yards on 13-for-18 passing with two touchdowns and two interceptions in the first half while Josh Jacobs had 72 rushing yards and a touchdown on 15 carries.
Seahawks strike back
The Raiders failed to handle sudden success very well.
Three minutes after taking an eight-point lead, Las Vegas’ advantage is back down to a single point. The Seahawks trail the Raiders only 21-20 with 5:21 remaining in the second quarter after a quick-strike touchdown drive.
Seattle ran tempo in going 75 yards on seven plays with Tyler Lockett hauling in a 35-yard touchdown pass from Geno Smith for the score.
Both teams’ statistics are now comparable, and the shootout might be under way at Lumen Field.
Perryman and Jacobs hit back-to-back big plays
The Raiders are rolling. Las Vegas leads Seattle 21-13 at Lumen Field after an interception and touchdown rush on back-to-back plays.
Linebacker Denzel Perryman set up the score when he dropped deep into coverage and saw Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith throw right at him. He returned the pick 26 yards to the Seahawks’ 30-yard line, which is all running back Josh Jacobs needed.
Jacobs broke three tackles near the line of scrimmage and then glided into the end zone to raise his statistics on the day to 10 carries for 53 yards. It’s a potential shootout in Seattle with 8:30 still remaining in the second quarter.
Flea-flicker works to perfection for Raiders
The pocket was collapsing but Derek Carr had just enough time to take a pitch back from running back Josh Jacobs and fire a short pass to Mack Hollins that he took into the end zone.
The Raiders lead the Seahawks 14-13 at Lumen Field. It hasn’t been a flawless performance especially for Carr, who has two interceptions but now also has two touchdowns with the Hollins score joining an earlier one to Ameer Abdullah.
Las Vegas is outgaining Seattle 138-93 but the turnovers have put the latter in strong starting field position on a couple occasions.
Seattle increases lead to six
The Seahawks made it to the red zone on back-to-back possessions, but the Raiders held from there.
Seattle has settled for a pair of field goals from Jason Myers, a 24- and 34-yarder, to make the score 13-7 at Lumen Field. The Seahawks appeared to have the first down on a fourth-and-1 play on the latest trip, but it was waved off for an illegal man downfield penalty.
The Raiders’ defense is giving up 5.2 yards per play and not playing all that well, but it’s stepping up when it matters most.
Ameer Abdullah scores first touchdown as a Raider
Las Vegas’ second drive went much better than the first.
The Raiders scored on an 18-yard touchdown from Derek Carr to Ameer Abdullah to cap an 11-play, 75 yard touchdown drive. It’s 7-7.
Carr missed one play after taking a hard hit to the midsection from Uchenna Uwosu, but was fairly sharp otherwise in connecting with Mack Hollins, Foster Moreau and Abdullah on first-down completions. He’s currently sitting with 61 yards with one touchdown and one interception on 4-for-7 passing.
Raiders get off to disastrous start
The Raiders are off to their worst start this season at Lumen Field.
Twenty-eight seconds into the game, they trail the Seahawks 7-0. Las Vegas quarterback Derek Carr threw an interception on the first play from scrimmage, getting the ball too far out in front of intended receiver Davante Adams and into the arms of safety Quandre Diggs.
Raiders safety Tre’von Moehrig broke up a pass in the end zone on the next play but Kenneth Walker took a second-down rush attempt 12 yards for a touchdown.
Inactives announced
Josh Jacobs hasn’t missed a game for the Raiders yet this season, and it won’t happen this afternoon at Lumen Field either.
The star running back, who’s currently third in the NFL in rushing yards, was not on the team’s just-released inactive report. There was a chance he would be after he hurt his calf and was limited in the final practice of the week.
But Jacobs worked out on the field during warm-ups, and it appeared to go well enough to play. Same goes for left tackle Kolton Miller, who missed last game with shoulder and abdomen injuries.
The only negative piece of injury news for the Raiders is the fact that they didn’t elevate cornerback Nate Hobbs to the active roster in his return from a broken hand. Hobbs looked on pace to return early in the week, but coach Josh McDaniels said he was dealing with a sickness in addition to his injury on Friday.
The other Raiders inactives are all familiar faces to the list — cornerback Sidney Jones, running back Brittain Brown, tackle Jackson Barton, tight end Jacob Hollister, defensive tackle Neil Farrell, defensive tackle Matthew Butler and defensive tackle Kendal Vickers.
Jacobs has missed games in each of his previous three seasons with the Raiders but spent the offseason attempting to improve his durability this year. So far, the work has paid off.
PREGAME
The Las Vegas Raiders broke through for their first road win of the season last week, prevailing 22-16 against the Denver Broncos in overtime behind a pair of touchdown receptions from star receiver Davante Adams.
Now they look to go back-to-back at a venue known as one of the most difficult places to play in the NFL when facing the Seattle Seahawks. Winning at Lumen Field is daunting both because of its noise level and typical conditions.
Las Vegas coach Josh McDaniels said he ranked Seattle and Kansas City as the loudest stadiums in the NFL. Light wind and rain are in the forecast for today, something the Seahawks are used to navigating and the Raiders are not.
Las Vegas played in its first cold-weather game of the year last week, but the 43-degree temperature expected at kickoff in Seattle is even chillier. The Raiders also don’t have a great history of success at Seattle, going only 10-16, though most of the games were indoors at the Kingdome, when the teams were divisional rivals from 1977 to 2001.
Favorable matchup: Davante Adams vs. Seahawks’ secondary
The Raiders’ pass defense has been the worst in the league over the past month by several advanced measures, but they took over that ignominious standing from the Seahawks. Through the first five weeks of the season, Seattle rated 32nd out of 32 teams in expected points added per dropback on defense. The Seahawks tweaked their scheme and have been above average since, ranking 10th in the league, but some personnel challenges remain. Rookie revelation Tariq Woolen, a fifth-round pick out of UTSA, has emerged as their top cornerback but might not be ready to shut down an All-Pro like Adams, who picked apart the league’s top-rated cornerback, Patrick Surtain II, last week. Adams had his third straight 100-yard receiving game against the Broncos and has now hit the benchmark in six of 10 games with the Raiders. Despite their improvement, the Seahawks still rank No. 24 in the league against No. 1 receivers, according to Football Outsiders’ DVOA ratings, meaning they have their work cut out for them against Adams.
THEY SAID IT
“We’re not going to have the sprinkler system on when we’re practicing but we’ll do as much as we can to try to simulate some of the things I think our guys don’t have much repetition at.” -Coach Josh McDaniels on how the Raiders will prepare for the rain
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“I’m not really big on Thanksgiving food. I don’t like turkey. I like turkey slices on a sandwich, but that’s about it.” -Running back Josh Jacobs on why he was a reluctant host of a Thanksgiving dinner celebration
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“That’s like 90% of what makes me versus all the other stuff they talk about. It’s a lot of the studying and the anticipation in knowing what’s coming or having an idea of what’s coming and then formulating a plan.” -Davante Adams on why he thinks the feel he showed on the game-winning touchdown is his greatest strength as a receiver
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“I think Cody is her favorite son. I’ll admit that, but I think she’s going to be happy to have both her boys in the same place.” -Backup tackle Jackson Barton on which team his mother will be rooting for when he goes up against younger brother Cody Barton, a starting Seahawks linebacker
Problematic matchup: Seahawks’ fresh roster vs. Raiders’ spot
The Seahawks spent the past week resting on their bye, and teams traditionally see a bump in their performance when coming back for the second part of their season. Meanwhile, teams playing back-to-back road games like the Raiders tend to see a decline in their efficiency. This game will be the fifth time the Raiders have played away games in consecutive weeks since moving to Las Vegas, and they’ve gone 1-3 on the second leg in the previous instances. Las Vegas had the misfortune of landing the NFL’s earliest bye week this season and has gone 2-3 since returning. The Raiders’ injury report is actually shorter than the Seahawks’ coming into this week — though left tackle Kolton Miller notably remains on it with shoulder and abdomen injuries — but that doesn’t take into account players already on injured reserve. Las Vegas has four key players in slot receiver Hunter Renfrow, tight end Darren Waller, linebacker Divine Deablo and cornerback Nate Hobbs out long-term, though Hobbs could return from a broken hand after practicing this week.
Gamebreaker: Linebacker Denzel Perryman
Pro Football Focus graded Perryman as the Raiders’ top performer in the victory against the Broncos, which had to be a sigh of relief with the team captain coming back from sitting out his third game of the year. Perryman has also missed the majority of two other games with injury but is healthy now. It’s a big boost to a struggling defense, as the unit has been consistently energized by the presence of the hard-hitting middle linebacker. Defensive coordinator Patrick Graham utilized Perryman more tactically against the Broncos. He sent Perryman on a handful of blitzes, which disrupted Denver’s passing game and allowed the veteran to get a pair of quarterback hits. Otherwise, Perryman often came out on passing situations, presumably so he could be at full-strength against the run and on short-yardage downs. The setup seemed to work as Perryman planted running backs on several occasions and registered two tackles for loss.
Big Number: 11.9
Adams had 11.9 yards of separation from Surtain for his game-winning 35-yard touchdown in overtime last week, according to NFL Next Gen Stats. That’s the largest margin on an overtime score since the league began tracking the statistic in 2016. It’s another testament to how spectacular Adams has been this season, especially considering he suggested calling the play. Adams knew if the Raiders got the right look, he could trick Surtain with his footwork based on tendencies he had seen earlier in the game. Adams yelled, “That boy too young. He ain’t there yet,” for CBS cameras after the game in reference to Surtain, adding fire to their budding rivalry. The score was Adams’ 10th of the season, putting him behind only Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce (11) for the NFL lead in receiving touchdowns. He also ranks fourth in the league with 925 receiving yards.
Best Bet (4-6): Geno Smith to throw an interception at Even money
This might seem like a curious choice considering Las Vegas has gone four straight games without an interception and the Seattle quarterback has only four interceptions on the year. But the Raiders’ lack of takeaways is bothering them, and changing it is something they’re emphasizing. This could be the spot where it starts to turn, especially if Hobbs returns to the lineup. Graham has been using mostly vanilla coverages the past few weeks with young players like Sam Webb and Tyler Hall contributing to the cornerback rotation. If Hobbs comes back and plays alongside Rock Ya-Sin and Amik Robertson in base packages, the Raiders would conceivably be more comfortable mixing things up. That would put three proven playmakers on the field together, not to mention strong safety Duron Harmon, a team captain who leads the Raiders with two interceptions on the year.
Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or