Oakland Raiders: A few keys to week six win over the Seattle Seahawks
By Kevin Saito
Exploit Seattle’s Weaknesses
Led by Shaquill Griffin, Tre Flowers, and Bradley McDougald, Seattle has put together a very solid secondary – one that’s tough to move the ball against.
No, they’re not the Legion of Boom, but this is a competent, ballhawking unit that’s snagged nine interceptions on their way to becoming the league’s sixth-ranked pass defense – a pass defense that seems to be getting better the longer they play together.
More from Golden Gate Sports
- Raiders: Rookie stock report following Week 3 performance
- 49ers sign new long snapper amidst a flurry of roster moves
- Oakland Athletics win Game 2 of Wild Card round with late-inning drama
- 49ers: George Kittle and Deebo Samuel cleared to return to practice
- 49ers expected to place DE Dee Ford on injured reserve
Though they didn’t look good in week one, surrendering 324 passing yards to an anemic Broncos offense, Seattle settled in and only gave up 185 passing yards to Chicago, 137 to Dallas, and 171 to Arizona.
Last week, Jared Goff and the Rams blew them up for 313 passing yards, but the Goff and the Rams pretty well blow everybody up, so it’s forgivable.
The point is, Carr and the passing game may find it difficult to move the ball through the air straight out of the gates.
There is a chink in Seattle’s defensive armor though – the run defense.
Seattle currently ranks twenty-ninth in run defense, giving up 129 yards per game, on an average of 4.7 yards per carry. And it just so happens that the Raiders have a pretty potent running back in Marshawn Lynch.
Lynch proved he can still be highly effective – as his 20-carry, 130-yard performance against a stout Browns defense perfectly illustrates. Imagine what Lynch can do against a run defense that has more holes than Swiss cheese.
To beat this Seattle team, they need to feed Lynch early, and often, and pound this Seahawks defense. That very well could loosen up the defense as a whole, allowing Carr and the passing game to operate effectively.