Raiders Open Preseason in Seattle With An Unlikely Ending

The Raiders could not stop the run all night and struggled to deal with fullback Robbie Ouzts. Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak was slicing and dicing the Raiders' defense all night with near uninterupted success on the ground paired with moderate success in the air.

At least the Raiders were able to intercept Drew Lock on the Seahawks' first drive with Isaiah Pola-Mao hauling in the pick. Kyu Blu Kelly almost added a second pick but dropped the ball.

Aiden O'Connell would come into the game and was under pressure all night. The backup tackles are not on the same page as the offense, with Charles Grant struggling to hold up against the Seattle attack. O'Connell went on to throw two inexcusable interceptions in the first half.

Seattle's George Holani took over in the first half, running for 61 yards and a touchdown on seven carries.

Alex Bachman was O'Connell's most reliable target, making two catches for 36 yards on four total targets.

Collin Johnson kept getting targeted but they could not link up with Johnson catching two passes for 17 yards off five targets.

The Raiders trailed 16-3 at halftime.

That's when we started to see the Pete Carroll effect. Coming out of halftime, O'Connell looked confident while fittingly, it was New Hampshire's Dylan Laube that opened up Kelly's offense.

After forcing a Seattle punt, the Raiders scored a touchdown when O'Connell hit Laube for a six-yard touchdown. On the drive, O'Connell went 5/5 passing.

The Raiders defense started to lock in, forcing a three-and-out, with the offense scoring a field goal off a 15-play drive. 16-13 Seahawks.

However, the Raiders defense started to break, allowing the Seahawks to run the football seven times on a nine play, 65 yard drive for a touchdown.

At this point, we were in the fourth quarter and rookie QB Cam Miller got his shot and he came out hot. Making it clear he can make platform throws, he hit Shedrick Jackson for a 41-yard score, placing the ball perfectly in between the corner and safety. 23-20 Seahawks.

A heroic effort from a tired defense on 4th and one on the Seattle 45, with the defense staying disciplined against Jalen Milroe, forced a turnover on downs, resulting in Miller leading the Raiders to a game-tying field goal with 1:12 left in the game.

Milroe had his shot to lead the Seahawks downfield, but after throwing for first down on the first play of the drive, Milroe threw two incompletions before being sacked by Treven Ma'ae.

Cam Miller would get his shot to lead the Raiders downfield for the win. Ball at the Las Vegas' 32-yard line. 25 seconds left. The world was on his shoulders and yet, Miller was firing the Raiders towards victory.

A 20-yard pass to Jackson put the Raiders into Seattle's territory. Miller would hit Jackson again for four more yards to set up a 55-yard field goal attempt for Daniel Carlson with five seconds left.

This was the Raiders' moment. Despite all the mistakes, all the errors, all the issues, somehow the Raiders were in position to win. This was Carroll's moment. To once again snatch win from the jaws of defeat, this time against the team that thought they didn't need him anymore. This was the Raiders' moment, and then the kick was blocked.

The game ends in a tie. 23-23.

There were ups, there were downs. Now the Raiders fly home with a feeling of what just happened?

If there's three lessons the Raiders need to learn, it's these. They need to stop the run. The Seahawks had 170 rushing yards on the night.

We all need to see more of Cam Miller.

The Raiders have no idea who should fill out their wide receiver room but Bachman and Jackson made strong cases.

Such an odd evening. Welcome to the Pete Carroll era. Let's see how the Raiders respond.

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