Winners and Losers from Seahawks 23, Raiders 23

There’s something almost poetic about Pete Carroll coming back to Seattle and neither winning nor losing against his former team. Yes, the Seattle Seahawks and Las Vegas Raiders played to a 23-23 tie to kick off their respective preseasons. Overtime ceased to exist in exhibition games as of 2021, so a tie game at the end of regulation is a wrap on the night.

The final score aside, this was a mostly entertaining night at Lumen Field, especially if you watched how the rookies starred in the first half and parts of the second half. This was a night to assess the offensive line and the young talent on the team, and I suspect most fans will have come away from the game with a positive outlook.

Time for Winners and Losers! Oh how I missed doing this but dislike doing it at 11 pm. It ain’t gonna be as thorough for this reason, so I apologize in advance.

Winners

Robbie Ouzts

Hell yes, I’m leading with a fullback. Old school football is back in Seattle and Robbie Ouzts is here for it. He was prevalent throughout the first half as a blocker, twice springing George Holani for explosive runs. We even saw Ouzts catch a pass for 17 yards to remind everyone he was a tight end at Alabama. It’s just preseason but I cannot wait to see what he does in regular season play as a blocker for Kenneth Walker and Zach Charbonnet.

Tory Horton

All aboard the Tory Train. The Colorado State rookie had three catches for 31 yards and a touchdown, as well as a dazzling 5-yard punt return (yes, you read that right). I know that Marquez Valdes-Scantling was given quite a bit of guaranteed money when he was signed in March, but I no longer believe his roster spot is secure. At the very least, Horton may be WR3 sooner rather than later whether MVS is here or not.

George Holani

Having missed out on the RB3 spot to Kenny McIntosh last season, Holani made a major statement on Thursday. The former Boise State star (Ashton who?!) had 61 yards on 7 carries and a touchdown, as well as a 20-yard gain on a screen pass in which he really did most of the work. Add in his kick return experience and the roster battle may be flipping in his favor.

Offensive Line, led by Grey Zabel

No sacks until Jalen Milroe’s late in the fourth quarter, just two quarterback hits allowed, and a whopping 170 yards rushing on 32 attempts. I thought Grey Zabel looked outstanding both in pass pro and in the run game. He gave Jonah Laulu so much hell that Laulu committed two holding penalties against Zabel, which you rarely see. There was really little to complain about regarding the OL, and Christian Haynes looked to have a good game at left guard.

Yes, it’s preseason yadda yadda yadda, but it was encouraging to watch Seattle’s OL look...