Seahawks Instant Reaction: Seattle Sports on OT loss to Raiders

The Seahawks returned from their bye on Sunday, and while things started off strong, they didn’t end well at Lumen Field with the Raiders escaping town with a 40-34 win in overtime.

‘Terribly frustrating’: Seahawks’ LOS woes continue vs Raiders

The loss makes the Hawks 6-5, now a full game back of the San Francisco 49ers (7-4) for first place in the NFC West.

As we do after each Seahawks game, we have collected the instant reactions to the loss from the voices of Seattle Sports. See what they have to say below, and hear much more analysis on the station Monday, including on The Pete Carroll Show with the Seahawks head coach at 9:30 a.m.

Mike Salk – Brock and Salk (6-10 a.m.)

It’s certainly hard to win when you give up nearly 600 yards and 40 points, so please don’t think this means the defense is off the hook for a brutal overtime loss to a mediocre Raiders team at home. But quarterbacks get paid to win games late and Geno Smith blew two opportunities to win this game.

Games take on their own personalities and this one seemed destined to be a shootout from the start. Geno certainly played that way, lighting up the Vegas secondary for 328 yards. But when he got the ball with just under two minutes needing only a field goal, he got one first down before missing two receivers and taking a sack. When the team miraculously got him the ball back near midfield needing only 25 yards for a game-winning field goal, he failed to get even a first down.

Yes, the defense failed multiple tests. But Geno had the opportunity to win this game and he flunked his own test. Twice.

Bob Stelton – Wyman and Bob (2-7 p.m.)

That was a brutal way to lose! On a day where the Seahawks were able to overcome quite a few mistakes on both sides of the ball and put themselves in a position to win the game, the defense ultimately couldn’t stop the running attack of the Raiders.

Josh Jacobs, who was questionable before the game with a calf injury, rushed for 229 yards and two touchdowns on 33 carries, including the 86-yard run for the game-winning TD in overtime.

86-yard run from Josh Jacobs to win the game! #LVvsSEA pic.twitter.com/F4aSUw09MM

— NFL (@NFL) November 28, 2022

That is two games in a row where this defense has been gashed on the ground. The Seahawks also gave up 576 total yards and allowed the Raiders to go 8 of 14 on third down. An incredibly ugly day for the defense despite the two interceptions for Quandre Diggs.

MAKE IT TWO ON THE DAY FOR @QDIGGS6! pic.twitter.com/HJLvSHvL3A

— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) November 27, 2022

The offense put up 34 points despite a very sloppy day when it came to protecting the ball. Geno Smith ended the day with an interception and a lost fumble. He also had two passes almost picked off in the end zone (one initially called a pick and then overturned). And the one thing that Hawks fans have been wanting to see from Geno is would he be able to drive this team down the field with the game on the line and find a way to win. Unfortunately in this game he was not able to.

Throw in some questionable calls by the refs and it was a recipe for a loss.

The Hawks need to figure out what has happened to their defense the past two weeks and get back to being efficient and taking care of the ball on offense if the playoffs are going to be a reality.

Mike Lefko – Wyman and Bob

Well, that is a problematic loss. The NFL proves time and time again that there is no such thing as a guaranteed win, and the Seahawks found that out today against a Raiders team that had previously only beaten the Texans and the Broncos.

Opponents have found a successful formula of attacking the Seahawks’ run defense. One game after the Bucs rushed for 161 yards on 44 carries, the Raiders used a similar commitment to wear down the Seattle defense in the second half for 283 yards on 40 carries, with the most notable one being the game-ender from Josh Jacobs. Third downs played a big factor in keeping the Raiders in the game as well; they converted 8 of 14 compared to just 3 of 9 for the Seahawks.

Conversely, for the second straight game the Seahawks’ offense could not get anything going on the ground. It was not as glaring as the 39 yards against the Bucs, but after Ken Walker’s first carry of the game went for a touchdown, it looked like the offense would have success running the ball.

K9 with the quick six. 👏 pic.twitter.com/rVzux0ABGj

— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) November 27, 2022

Instead, the Seahawks finished with just 65 yards rushing on 23 carries. That makes a team one-dimensional, and Maxx Crosby took advantage of that with critical sacks and pressures late in the game.

The Seahawks are up against it now, and it’s a massive game looming next against the Rams.

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