Seahawks vs Raiders: A look at Seattle’s week six opponent

The Seahawks (2-3) will be taking on the Raiders (1-4) at Wembley Stadium in London on Sunday. It will be the first meeting with Marshawn ‘Beast Mode’ Lynch for the Seahawks since he left the team in 2016.

Here is an interesting match up between two teams that are seeming to be under a minor rebuild. The Seahawks and Raiders used to be AFC West foes, back when Seattle played in the American Football Conference.

The Raiders could be best described as a rebuilding team. In the first year of his ten-year deal as head coach of the Raiders, Jon Gruden has not really impressed. He dealt away the best defensive player in the league (Khalil Mack) and made some questionable draft picks, as well as trading for a backup quarterback in AJ McCarron. His team has only tasted victory once in five weeks.

The team still boasts some weapons on offense, including familiar face Marshawn Lynch. The receiving duo of Amari Cooper and Jordy Nelson is pretty impressive. However, quarterback Derek Carr has not been stellar since he was given a five-year, $125 million contract this off-season. The Oakland defense has suffered since losing their premier star edge rusher, Mack, and is close to bottom in the league in total defense.

Key acquisitions:

• WR Jordy Nelson
• CB Rashaan Melvin
• LB Tahir Whitehead
• RB Doug Martin

Key departures:

• LB Khalil Mack
• WR Michael Crabtree
• K Sebastian Janikowski
• P Marquette King
• WR Martavis Bryant
• S Obi Melifonwu

Oakland players to watch for on Sunday:

RB Marshawn Lynch.

Lynch, as you all know, is a Seahawks legend. Beast Mode, as he was aptly nicknamed, was responsible for a literal earth quake in 2010 after pulling off the greatest run we 12s have ever seen. Lynch is the fourth-leading rusher in Seattle history, including four-straight 1,000-yard rush seasons from 2011 to 2015. Lynch will likely get a nice load of carries on Sunday against his former team. He could very well have a big game as the Seahawks have given up big numbers to running backs this year. I am not rooting for the Raiders on Sunday. But I will not be upset if I see #24 have a nice game.

TE Jared Cook.

Cook is quietly one of the best receiving tight ends in football. The tight end started the season with a 180-yard game against the Rams, and has had himself a nice year thus far. A lot of Derek Carr’s targets are to Cook, who specializes in finding holes in the middle of zone defenses. Seattle has not given up much to tight ends this season, but it was a nagging issue for their defense in the past. Look for Gruden and the Raiders to try to beat Seattle’s zone defense with some throws to Cook down the seam.

Match ups to watch for:

The Seahawks’ pass rush has been pretty bad this season, with the exception of the Dallas game. It seems almost every time an opposing quarterback drops back, he has hours to hang out in the pocket. The Raiders offensive line has not been good, and they will be missing a key piece in guard Kelechi Osemele on Sunday. Offensive tackles Donald Penn and rookie Kolton Miller are also sidelined, leaving many holes in the Oakland offensive line that will be filled by inexperienced young players. This is the perfect time for the Seattle pass rush to step up, and if they bring pressure then Carr will turn the ball over.

As mentioned before, the Seahawks will have to try and contain a certain “beast” on Sunday. The key to winning football games for the Seahawks from here on out is to stopping the run. The pass rush will get there if the defense can stuff the opposing run game. Seattle will have to make Carr beat them if Seattle wants to control the clock and play at their own tempo. On the other hand, Seattle needs to continue dominating the line of scrimmage on offense and creating large creases for their backs – like Chris Carson – to run through.

Injury report:

As mentioned earlier, the Raiders are pretty beat up on the offensive line. Guard Kelechi Osemele likely will not play with a knee injury. Tackle Kolton Miller is not expected to be ready to go either. Defensive end Frostee Rucker is doubtful to play with a neck injury. Marshawn Lynch appears on the injury report, but when is he not on the injury report? He will play.

The Seahawks will again be without linebacker KJ Wright, who has yet to play a snap this season. Rookie defensive end Rasheem Green will also be out. Defensive end Dion Jordan is officially off the injury report and will play Sunday. Nick Vannett appears on the injury report, which is not great considering the injuries at tight end already. However, he will probably play on Sunday. Russell Wilson also appears on the injury report, but there is approximately a zero percent chance he misses Sunday’s game in London