The Oakland Raiders would get the ball first to begin its game against their former AFC West divisional rivals the Seattle Seahawks, but would go 3-and-out from their own 10 yard line.
After a Shane Lechler punt, DT Richard Seymour would record an 8-yard sack on Seahawk QB Matt Hasselbeck on their first play from scrimmage. Then after a failed run attempt, Seymour would sack Hasselbeck again to force Seattle to punt.
On Oakland’s second bite at the offensive apple, they would start their drive with a fumbled snap, which Campbell recovered. The next play would feature a 6-yard pass to offensive tackle Khalif Barnes, but would mean nothing as they would go another 3-and-out when the Raiders failed to hold off blitz on 3rd and long. The one saving grace is that Seattle is also unable to generate any offense as well.
After a timely first down grab by WR Jacoby Ford on Oakland’s next series, the Raiders dug deep into their bag of tricks and pulled out treat of a reverse to WR Darrius Heyward-Bey for 30 yards down to the Seahawks’ 12-yardline. But after a Jason Campbell pass was tipped incomplete on 3rd down, the Raiders would settle for a 3-0 advantage following a successful Sebastian Janikowski field goal.
With the Raider defense playing very physical, would help Seattle achieve yet another 3-and-out. But following the great defensive effort, the Raider offense continues to look stagnant and is willing to play the game of field positioning. On the ensuing punt, the Raiders’ special teams gave Seattle a small glimmer of hope when Safety Hiram Eugene failed to make a tackle on the returner and allowed him to reach all the way down to the Raiders’ 27-yard line. Once again, Oakland’s defense would be called upon to save the day; not to mention a beneficial holding penalty called against the Seahawks which both knocked Seattle out of field goal range and cut away what momentum Seattle had seemed to be gaining.
After the Seattle punt, Oakland began a balanced attack of run vs. pass that began from their own 13-yard line and all the down to the Seattle 30-yard line. On 4th and 1, the Raiders opted to go for it following a time out. The time out would be valuable as they drew up a pass to fullback Marcel Reece for a 30-yard touchdown to extend the Raiders’ lead to 10-0. Up to this point in the game, the Raiders have out-”everything’d” the Seahawks; 10 points to 0, 126 total yards to Seattle’s 4, 59 rushing yards to Seattle’s 0, and 97 passing yards to Seattle’s 4.
Later in the 2nd quarter, Seattle benefitted from a non-call following what appeared to be a fair catch signal moments before the returner ran with the ball. I can only assume that the officials believed the returner was covering his eyes from the sun. However it was explained, it looked bad because the player’s arm was out up at a 90 degree angle and his hand was elevated above his helmet. Hiram Eugene was this arm placement and held up because to him and the fans in attendance, it looked like a fair catch signal. In any event, the Seahawks wouldn’t make much of the extra yardage from the return and would later punt the ball away.
After the Raider offense stalled again, the Seahawks took over on offense following a punt and would gain their best offensive drive of the first half. The drive was successful enough to get Seattle well within kicker Olindo Mare’s range for a field goal attempt, but the Northwestern’s try went “Florida State” …wide right. The game would remain 10-0 at halftime.
Following a good defensive stand to begin the second half, Oakland’s Jekyll and Hyde offense would get a much needed boost on a dazzling 49-yard run from their own 20-yard line down to Seattle’s 31-yard line, but that would be about all the offense could muster on this drive and settled for a Janikowski field goal to extend their lead to 13-0.
On Seattle’s ensuing drive following the kick off, QB Matt Hasselbeck moved his team own the field and struck deep to one side line for a big first down and then got a pass interference called on Raider Stanford Routt on the opposite side of the field on the next play. Now on the Raider 20-yard line, the Seahawks were poised to make it a game with a touchdown when Seattle receiver Mike Williams dropped a sure first down pass and perhaps and likely touchdown with a very small run after the would-be catch. Seattle would be relegated to a mere field goal try from only 29 yards out, but unlike Mare’s last field goal attempt, he would miss wide left this time to keep the shutout in play.
Then, something special happened. On 3rd and 9from Oakland’s 15-yard line, a Jason Campbell pass intended for WR Darrius Heyward-Bey bounced high into the air off of him, then bounced off of WR Jacoby Ford’s hands, and landed into the waiting arms of RB Michael Bush who in turn ran the ball for 55 yards all the way down to the Seahawks’ 30 yard line. Next, RB Darren McFadden would speed his way for 20 yards to Seattle’s 10-yard line and then a small run to the Seattle 4-yard line on back-to-back plays. But because of an errand Campbell pass on 3rd and goal, the Raiders settled for a field goal to make the score 16-0.
On the ensuing drive, the entire offense Seattle cold muster would be from help from the officials with 3rd down penalties against the Raiders. But Oakland’s defense would not allow that ruin their dominance when Stanford Routt tipped a deep pass intended for Deon Butler, then later bounced off of the outstretched arms of the receiver into the air, and into the waiting hands of safety Tyvone Branch for an interception.
On the first play of the Raiders’ ensuing drive, Jason Campbell connected with Darrius Heyward-Bey for a 69-yard touchdown run after catch to make the score 23-0 and bring the house down in front of the now rabid Raider home crowd.
On the next Seattle offensive drive, Nnamdi Asomugha would injure his right ankle after successfully defending a deep sideline pass. Nnamdi would remain on the ground for several minutes writhing in pain and would later be assisted off the field by trainers. He would not return to the game. The Seahawks would immediately try to exploit Nnamdi’s absence and with safety Michael Huff in at corner back in place of Asomugha. Aside from the one completion, Seattle could do nothing else offensively and would settle for a field goal to break the shut out and get Seattle on the board with the 3-points to make the score 23-3.
On the ensuing kickoff, Seattle would attempt an onsides kick, but that too failed as Raider safety Stevie Brown recovered the kick and would appear to run in for a touchdown after an acrobatic move to set himself free, but was called back by the officials for him being down by contact. The Raiders would manage a field goal out of the drive to make the score 26-3.
The defense put on another show of dominance with a Richard Seymour sack; his second of the day. Following a Seattle punt, Michael Bush would blast his way for a 30-yard gain. Then teammate Marcel Reece would rattle off a 31-yard run immediately following Bush’s run. Michael Bush would seal the deal with a 4-yard run to put Oakland firmly head 32-3. Bush would accumulate 106 yards from scrimmage, 135 yards from scrimmage for Darren McFadden, and 122 yards from scrimmage for Marcel Reece. Overall, the Raiders have put together back-to-back wins, back-to-back 500+ yards of total offense, back-to-back 200+ yards rushing, back-to-back games of 75 or less rushing yardage allowed, back-to-back games amassing 4 or more sacks (8 today), and back-to-back acts of all around dominance.
The Oakland Raiders would win the game 33-3 and prepare for the visiting Kansas City Chiefs who managed to barely squeak by the hapless and winless Buffalo Bills deep into overtime at home. The Raiders can pull into a half game of Kansas City with a win next week.
