Raiders Dominate Seahawks Before 65,000
The first game the Las Vegas Raiders played before fans in Allegiant Stadium was just about everything owner Mark Davis and Coach Jon Gruden could have asked for, preseason or not.
The Raiders, with third-string quarterback Nathan Peterman leading the way while playing the entire game among mostly reserves for both teams, dominated the Seattle Seahawks most of the way in a 20-7 victory on Saturday night before a capacity crowd in the neighborhood of 65,000.
Fans were not allowed in Allegiant Stadium last season because of the Coronavirus pandemic, so even Davis didn’t attend a single home game as the Raiders went 2-6 in Las Vegas while compiling a 6-2 record on the road in a disappointing .500 season.
This one was a hit for Raider Nation from the time Miriam Adelson, the widow of Las Vegas billionaire Sheldon Adelson, lit the Al Davis Memorial Flame and Marie Osmond performed a stirring rendition of the National Anthem.
Peterman was the star of the show from then on, orchestrating a Raiders offensive that amassed 385 total yards to 194 for the Seahawks, held a 26-9 margin in first downs and controlled the ball for 79 plays to 46 for Seattle.
Time of possession was an amazing 40.37 minutes to 19:23 for Seattle.
The Raiders never trailed after driving 83 yards for a touchdown in 14 plays with the opening kickoff, with free agent rookie running back Trey Ragas scoring from a yard out with 7:33 left in the quarter.
Peterman completed six-of-seven passes on the drive, including a 28 yarder to wide receiver Zay Jones and a 21-yard to Jones to the four-yard line.
“I’ve never been in a preseason game when the fans were so into it,” said Jones, who caught three passes for 57 yards. “They were amazing from the beginning of the game until the end and you could tell how happy they were to be there.
“You could feel the vibe running through the stadium throughout the game. It was very special and I was just happy to be part of it.”
Peterman, who played for the Buffalo Bills in 2018 and 2019, completed 29-of-39 passes for 246 yards despite being sacked four times and even though he didn’t throw for a touchdown and was intercepted on one ill-advised pass, he showed he is a leader.
It showed that the Raiders, with starter Derek Carr and back up Marcus Mariota, are even deeper and more talented at quarterback than people even thought.
Free agent wide receiver DJ Turner led the Raiders with seven receptions for 43 yards, while Keelan Doss had six catches for 55 yards, Zay Jones made three for 67 and Ragas added three for 20.
Peterman led the Raiders on drives of 87 and 78 yards to field goals of 22 and 24 yards by Dominik Eberle, subbing for injured kicker Daniel Carlson, as the Raiders built a 13-0 lead at halftime.
“We played basically all new guys, many of them who were playing in an NFL game for the first time,” Gruden said as he was interviewed on television on the way off the field at halftime. “We moved the football and we were solid on defense.
“Give Nathan Peterman some credit.”
The Seahawks went 63 yards in seven plays for their only score of the game with the second half kickoff, with running back DeeJay Dallas taking advantage of a blown coverage and breaking a tackle to go 43 yards down the right sideline for the score to make it 13-7 with 11:35 left in the third quarter.
After the Raiders came out a little flat in the third quarter, Peterman drove them 43 yards and eight plays to the clinching touchdown, with free-agent running back B.J. Emmons scoring from two yards out with 7:37 left in the game.
The Raiders are loaded at running back with Josh Jacobs, Kenyan Drake, and Jalen Richard, but now they have Ragus and Emmons in the mix, too.
Ragas led the Raiders with 62 yards on 13 carries and Emmons added 45 yards on nine carries including a 22-yarder, and both scored touchdowns, while Peterman ran for 32 yards on nine scrambles.
“The running backs were great and the line was just mauling people,” said Peterman, who completed passes to 11 different receivers. “I told them all how great they were near the end of the game and said it was just nice to sit back there and hand the ball off so they could do their stuff.”
The Raiders defense was exceptional across the board, other than the Seahawks’ one scoring drive, with the secondary allowing Seattle to complete 17-of-31 passes for only 126 yards while rushing for only 68 yards on 14 carries.
Linebacker Javin White led the Raiders with six total tackles, while safety Dallin Leavitt and cornerback Keisean Nixon each made three tackles and rookie cornerback Nate Hobbs had two tackles and sacked quarterback Geno Smith for an eight-yard loss.
But this was a team effort on both sides of the ball and the Raiders starters seemed to really enjoy the show from the sidelines, and no matter who plays, the Silver and Black will try to keep it up next Saturday night against the Los Angeles Rams at Sofi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif.
But after what they saw at Allegiant Stadium, the 65,000 fans who were there can’t wait for the Raiders to return for the regular-season opener against the Baltimore Ravens for Monday Night Football on Sept. 13.
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