Raiders hand Seahawks worst loss of year 33-3

By Kshell

The Seattle Seahawks(4-3) continued their road problems as they were crushed by former AFC West rival Oakland Raiders(4-4) 33-3. In a game that saw the Seahawks offense amount just 162 yards of offense, including a pathetic 47 yards rushing most of which came at the end of the game. The Seahawks were sacked eight times on the day and couldn't sustain any drives. The Seahawks defense finally worn down from being on the field all day gave up 20 points in the fourth quarter.

The Raiders led after the first quarter 3-0. The Seahawks offense had negative 14 yards offense in the first quarter and went three and out four times. Midway through the second quarter the Raiders offense who was getting stuffed themselves started to turn the game around. Facing a third and nine from the Seahawks 38 the Raiders called a draw play since Seattle on third and longs likes to play nickel and dime coverages and blitz. Michael Bush ran for eight yards setting up a fourth and one. Instead of kicking the field goal head coach Tom Cable elected to go for it. One fourth and one the Raiders threw the ball to fullback Marcel Reece who played wide receiver at the University of Washington while in college. Reece split out as a receiver and Jason Campbell split two Seahawk defenders somehow as they collided with each other. Reece then ran 30 yards for the touchdown to give the Raiders a 10-0 halftime lead. Seattle had just 46 yards of offense reminding fans of the Washington Huskies yesterday or Washington State Cougars depending who you cheer for.

With the Seahawks trailing 13-0 they squandered their last chance to make this a game. Facing a third and eight from the 10 yard line Matt Hasselbeck hit Mike Williams who didn't have a reception at the time right in the numbers for an easy touchdown. Instead Williams dropped the pass and the Seahawks had to settle for a field goal. Kicker Olindo Mare hadn't missed a kick in 28 tries but having missed earlier he missed another kick from 31 yards out. Instead of cutting the game to 13-7 in two plays Seattle had nothing. The Raiders would take over.

In the fourth quarter the Seahawks defense was tired and already without Brandon Membane, defensive end and run stuffer Red Bryant was hurt. For the first time all year the Seahawks got destroyed against the run. The Raiders erupted for 20 points in the fourth quarter. After leading 16-0 Jason Campbell hit top 10 pick from the 2009 NFL draft Darrius Heyward-Bey for a 69 yard touchdown pass. Michael Bush added the final touchdown with a four yard rushing score to give the Raiders a crushing 33-3 win over the Seahawks.

The Raiders dominated this game sacking Matt Hasselbeck eight times. Hasselbeck was 13 of 32 for 160 yards, no touchdowns and an interception that hit Deon Butler in the numbers and popped up in the air. His opponent Jason Campbell was 15 of 27 for 310 yards and two touchdowns for a passer rating of 120.9.

The Seahawks couldn't run the ball starting running back Marshawn Lynch was held to just seven yards rushing on nine carries, Justin Forsett wasn't much beter as he had 11 yards on just five carries. The Raiders pounded the ball on the Seahawks with Darren McFadden ran the ball 21 times for 111 yards while Michael Bush had 51 yards on nine carries. All told the Raiders out gained the Seahawks on the ground 239 to 47. The Seahawks were destroyed on the line of trenches.

All in all, the Seahawks must improve on the road if they wish to win the division and win a playoff game. The Seahawks look great at home as they are 3-0 but on the road they are just 1-3 now. The Seahawks offensive line has to get their act together. They have still yet to produce a 100 yard rusher this season. The Seahawks next week face the best defensive line they'll see all year long. The Seahawks must find a way to protect the quarterback better or next week will be a long day.

Observations:

- The Seahawks need #6 pick overall Russel Okung badly. Tyler Polumbus simply isn't getting the job done as Hasselbeck had no time to throw the ball. When Hasselbeck did finally get a pass off it was often the receivers were dropping the passes. Only one time a receiver made a play and Golden Tate hurt his ankle on the play. The defense line can't sustain injuries like that. Both sides of the war of the trenches were dominated by the Raiders.

- Leon Washington was about the only bright spot on the game. Washington led the team in rushing with 29 yards on just five carries. He also had 114 kickoff return yards(28.5) and 81 punt return yards(27.0). He came to play unfortunetly nobody else did.

- The Seahawks defense allowed several big plays. They allowed in total eight plays of 20 yards or more. Seven plays of 30 yards or more and four plays of 40 yards or more. The Seahawks allowed a 30 yard reverse to Heyward-Bey, 30 yard touchdown pass to ex Husky Reece, McFadden busted a 49 yard run, Reece caught a 51 yard pass, Bush caught a ball that touched five different players then scampered for 55 yards, McFadden added a 20 yard run, Heyward-Bey caught a 69 yard touchdown pass then Reece again had a 31 yard run.

- The Seahawks were destroyed by Marcel Reece the former Husky dissapointment. Reece had two carries for 32 yards and three receptions for 90 yards and a touchdown. If only Willingham could have gotton this much production out of him he might still have a job.

- Mike Williams who had 21 receptions the last two games had just one reception. Often times he was standing on the sidelines as he appeared he didn't want to play. That is what separates true #1 receivers from pretenders. I thought Williams got over that but being lazy is in his nature and he didn't want to be at the game. You would think playing a team who left him unemployed for three years he would be motivated but the exact opposite happened.

When you add it all up the teams in Washington this weekend lost 116-3. So if you are a fan of the teams in this state Halloween truly was a scary weekend for you. The Seahawks are better than this though as they were injured all week long. I'm confident we'll see a different team next week as this team is an entirely different team at Qwest Field compared to the road. This isn't just a Pete Carroll thing either they happened under Mike Holmgren. I haven't lost confidence in Carroll he is doing a great job with the Seahawks and still has the team in first place for now.