3 bold predictions for Seahawks versus Raiders Week 12
By Lee Vowell
The 6-4 Seahawks play the 3-7 Las Vegas Raiders in Week 12. Anything can happen on any given Sunday in the NFL so don’t let the records fool you. The Raiders are completely capable of defeating Seattle.
I am hoping mentally that the young Seahawks team can forget all about what happened in Seattle’s Week 10 loss to Tampa Bay. Maybe they really will buy into the fact that the game took place in a different country six time zones from Seattle. Plus, there are a lot of games that the Seahawks have dominated other teams this year to give credence to Seattle being confident.
Las Vegas’s season is basically done. Sure, they have seven games left but they have about zero chance of making the playoffs. Seattle is 6-4 and still with a very real chance of making the postseason. It will be interesting to see if Seattle takes advantage of the opportunity and defeats a fading Raiders team Sunday.
Three bold guesses for what will happen when the Seahawks play the Raiders
Prediction 1: The Raiders will dominate the Seahawks in time of possession
Las Vegas may have figured something out in Week 11 when they defeated the Denver Broncos (for the second time this year). That is, to win games they need to control the clock. For the season, the Raiders are 21st in average time of possession per game at 29:33. But in each game they have won this season, they have also won the time of possession. And Las Vegas has the kind of offense that can grind out yards against the Seahawks.
In Week 10, Seattle regressed to more of what it looked like in 2021. That is they allowed the Buccaneers to dominate the clock and Seattle simply ran out of any time they might have had to catch up. Yes, the defense was atrocious for the most part but the defense also allowed just 7 points in the second half. The offense was gaining momentum but each drive became so much more important because the offense has precious little time to create points.
The Raiders may be just 3-7 but they aren’t a terrible team. Six of their losses are a touchdown or less. They lose close games. But one way to avoid that is to have your own offense control tempo and the Raiders will do that in Week 12 in an attempt to move to 4-7. More on whether they win or not in just a bit.