Field Gulls
Well, that was an…interesting way to finish the game as the Seattle Seahawks blocked a last-second field goal to preserve a 23-23 tie against the Los Angeles Oakland Las Vegas Raiders in the preseason opener at Lumen Field. As it was also the return of Pete Carroll to Seattle, could there have been a more weird (and fitting) finish? No one really likes a tie game…unless it’s the preseason. In that case, no one loses and everyone wins just by virtue of not playing an overtime where there is more opportunity for injuries!
Speaking of injuries, that’s definitely one of the highlights of this game in that it seems like Seattle came out of the game unscathed. Huge win right there.
As for the actual performance on the field, the Seahawks rested many of their starters, particularly on defense where only rookie safety/hybrid defender Nick Emmanwori got any meaningful snaps – and even that lasted only a couple drives before Mike Macdonald was like “Yeah, I’ve seen enough,” letting Emmanwori watch the rest of the contest with a ballcap on.
Drew Lock was the first-half QB, and got the first crack at debuting Klint Kubiak’s offense in Seattle. There was unsurprisingly a big emphasis on the run game. And guess what? It seemed to work pretty well! George Holani looked like a capable NFL running back and had some room to actually maneuver instead of being hit in the backfield as has happened too often the past few seasons. This is preseason though, so I’m not going to get too far ahead of myself.
The defense had its moments as well early on, stifling the Raiders offense – including former Seahawk Geno Smith and first-round pick Ashton Jeanty. As the game wore on, things were a little different with the Raiders coming back from a 16-3 halftime deficit to tie the game at 23-23 late in the Fourth Quarter. Las Vegas set themselves up to win the game on a last-second FG before Mike Macdonald’s Seahawks channeled Pete Carroll’s Seahawks and blocked the kick.
That’s better than the 6-6 tie in Arizona at least.
