Landover, Maryland, and Seattle, Washington, are almost 3,000 miles apart, but in the NFL’s early window on Sunday, a lot of Seattle Seahawks fans’ attention was directed toward that East Coast town. That’s where something like a reunion was taking place.
The greatest linebacker in Seahawks’ history was engaged in battle with Seattle’s most successful coach and their most recent playoff quarterback.
Pete Carroll took his Geno Smith-led Las Vegas Raiders to Landover to challenge Bobby Wagner and the Washington Commanders. Appropriately enough, given the history these men have with the Seahawks, the game took place in Northwest Stadium.
Seattle Seahawks icon Bobby Wagner shines against Pete Carroll
Geno isn’t the only former Hawk currently suiting up for the Raiders. Carroll has gathered other players he coached in Seattle to help him try and rebuild Las Vegas. From big names (Jamal Adams) to small (Stone Forsythe), this Raiders’ club has players Hawks’ fans will recognize.
Due to injuries in their secondary, Vegas’ top corner on Sunday was Kyu Blu Kelly, the youngster who played under Carroll in the coach’s final season with the Hawks in 2023.
So how did all these former Seahawks fare on Sunday? For Bobby Wagner, things went very nicely. For Carroll and his club, it was a tough afternoon.
The 35-year-old Wagner, coming off yet another All-Pro season, had one of his best games in recent years. Eleven tackles and two sacks. He was instrumental in shutting down the Raiders’ prized rookie runner, Ashton Jeanty, and in harassing Geno all day long.
As for Geno, though his day looked outstanding on paper – 19 of 29 for 289 yards, three TDs, and zero picks – he could never get the Raiders’ offense in gear when the game was still competitive. He spent most of the day running for his life. If not for his athleticism, the five sacks he suffered could have been much worse.
But as difficult as Geno’s day was, it doesn’t even come close to how bad things were for his coach. Carroll knew when he took over the Raiders that it was going to take some time to get things turned around. They are coming off three straight losing seasons and plummeted to 4-13 last year.
Still, he had had pumped his typical high-octane enthusiasm into the club and had them at 1-1 entering the Washington game.
The Commanders played without their star quarterback, Jayden Daniels, and were also missing several key components up front, including starting guard Brandon Coleman and blocking tight end John Bates. On defense, starting defensive end Deatrich Wise, Jr. was also out.
Still, Dan Quinn’s club (oh - did I forget to mention that yet another iconic Seahawks’ coach is now running things in Washington?) did the two things Carroll hates the most. On offense, the Commanders ran roughshod over the Raiders’ defense, while on defense, Washington stuffed Jeanty et. al. all day long.
Jeanty managed 67 yards on the day, picking up 3.7 yards per carry. That’s not very good, but it looks far worse if you take out a few long runs that skew those numbers upwards. On 14 of his 17 runs, the rookie gained just 18 yards. The middle of Washington’s line, led by Daron Payne and Wagner, overwhelmed Vegas for much of the game.
Things were even worse when the Raiders were on defense. Even with two new starting guards, the Commanders bulldozed Las Vegas. They ran for three touchdowns – two from running backs and another from one-time Raider QB Marcus Mariota, who was very efficient in relief of Daniels. Nothing epitomized the day more clearly than Jeremy McNichols' touchdown run late in the second quarter.
Despite being thoroughly outclassed, a couple of Commanders’ mistakes had allowed Vegas to tie up the game at 10-10. After a short Deebo Samuel run with just under five minutes remaining in the half, McNichols, who was filling in for the injured Austin Eekeler, overpowered the Raiders' defense for a Marshawn Lynch-like 60-yard touchdown run.
He ran right through one of the Raiders' biggest hitters, safety Jeremy Chinn. From that point, the game was never in question.
On the day, Washington outgained Las Vegas 201-93 on the ground. Quinn’s squad averaged 6.3 yards per carry to the Raiders’ paltry 3.3. For a coach who prides himself on coaching tough teams that try to dominate on the ground, this was a serious wake-up call.
How bad was the day for Carroll? Just before halftime, the Commanders' struggling kicker, Matt Gay, lined up for a 55-yard field goal attempt that would extend the lead to ten points. Carroll called a timeout to ice him, but Washington went through with the kick. It sailed wide left. But due to Carroll’s time out, that try didn’t count.
Gay drilled the real kick a few seconds later.
It remains to be seen whether all of Carroll’s expertise and enthusiasm will be enough to turn the Raiders into a contender. At least he got some pretty clear evidence of just how far he has to go on Sunday.