Seahawks @ Raiders
Final Score: Raiders 20, Seahawks 7
Writer: Justin Herrera (@Semtexmex93 on Twitter)
The Seattle Seahawks headed to sin city to play the Las Vegas Raiders. This game did not have many of the stars from either team and had the feel of a tryout game. One thing we are keeping an eye on this season is how well the Raiders’ offensive line looks with the new additions of Alex Leatherwood and Andre James. Former draft sensation Geno Smith took the field as the starting QB for Seattle in this one, which should say everything you need to know about how this game went. This was obviously not the most hyped game of the week, but it produced some gems, such as Trey “Vegas” Ragas, Keelen Doss, and Zay Jones. The end result was Las Vegas Raiders 20, Seattle Seahawks 7.
Seattle Seahawks
Quarterback
Geno Smith: 4/10, 46 yards, Sack
Sean Mannion: 7/11, 34 yards
Geno Smith started the game for the Seahawks with a 17-yard throw to Aaron Fuller. A couple of plays later, he took a big hit from a blitzing Nate Hobbs that took him out for a play. After returning to the field Smith looked a little shook and was throwing the ball before protection broke down. Smith’s last big play was a 17-yard completion while scrambling to his most consistent receiver Freddie Swain. I hope Geno is alright, the injury report says he has a concussion and he probably shouldn’t have gone out there to play again.
Alex McGough or “Mr. Magoo” was rather elusive as a running quarterback, taking off for a drive-saving 7-yard run at one point. What was more impressive was he evaded one tackle and stiff-armed another defender. This led to McGough finding Deejay Dallas all alone for a 43 yard TD. McGough would scramble for a 17 yard run on the very next drive but overall was very pedestrian. If not for that 43 yard TD, McGough’s numbers are 5/9 for 11 yards. Yikes!
Sean Mannion finished the game but did nothing noteworthy.
Running Backs
Deejay Dallas: 5 carries, 24 yards | 2 targets, 2 receptions, 45 yards, TD
Josh Johnson: 3 carries, 11 yards
Cameron Scarlett: 1 carry, 7 yards | 2 targets, 2 receptions, 5 yards
Alex Collins: 2 carries, 1 yard | 2 targets, 1 reception, 4 yards
DeeJay Dallas was the only running back worthy of a blurb from the Seahawks backfield. Dallas had a touchdown on an almost untouched 43-yard reception where he slipped through a couple of defenders and outran them to the endzone.
Down the sidelines, @dallasdeejay was GONE 😮💨
Q3: SEA 7, LV 13
📺: #SEAvsLV on FOX pic.twitter.com/ocKbWxjRHA
— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) August 15, 2021
Otherwise, his longest carry of the day was for nine yards against the third-string defense. I was surprised that the Seahawks’ game plan was heavy on the pass today, as they had 31 pass attempts compared to 11 rushing attempts. There are quite a few fantasy players that are hopeful this is their game plan when the games matter.
Turns out it was a good game to have @DallasDeejay mic'd up 😏 pic.twitter.com/Kw95fqH6iR
— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) August 15, 2021
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
Freddie Swain: 4 targets, 3 receptions, 29 yards
Cade Johnson: 5 targets, 4 receptions, 25 yards
Aaron Fuller: 2 targets, 1 reception, 17 yards
Conor Wedington: 2 targets, 1 reception, 8 yards
Cam Sutton: 2 targets, 1 reception, 2 yards
Dom-Wood Anderson: 4 targets, 1 reception
John Ursua: 1 target, 1 reception, -1 yard
The Seahawks were feeding their receivers against the Raiders. One player that looked strong was Freddie Swain, who is likely competing with Dwayne Eskridge for the No.3 wide receiver in Seattle. Swain looked good catching a 17-yard comeback route from Geno Smith. Swain caught 3 of Smith’s 4 completed passes and was showing the type of consistency that Russell Wilson likes in his receivers.
Aaron Fuller had a nice drag route that he took for 17 yards while breaking a Damon Arnette tackle. Cade Johnson closed the game out with 2 catches and 19 yards on the final drive. He’s a player who had a lot of steam going into camp. Hopefully, we get to see him a little more before he ends up on the practice squad or a different roster.
Quarterback
Nathan Peterman: 29/39, 246 yards, INT | 6 carries, 32 yards
Nathan Peterman was the guy in this one, with both Marcus Mariota and Derek Carr sitting out this game. Peterman was up and down the entire game. He made some pretty good-looking throws, including a 28 yard perfectly placed pass to Zay Jones and another that went for 21 yards after recognizing that Jones was covered by a defensive lineman. Peterman also scrambled for 32 yards.
https://twitter.com/MereBSBuffalo/status/1426966833282813953?s=20
Shoutout to #Raiders RB BJ Emmons who made this Nathan Peterman dime possible. Seattle came w/ the same pressure Nate Hobbs got his sack on but Emmons stepped up & handled the Slot Blitz. The EDGE had no chance to cover Zay Jones on his “Out & Up” route. #RaiderNation pic.twitter.com/o1EGjeEZvx
— Chris Reed (@ChrisReed_NFL) August 15, 2021
He did have a couple of lapses in judgment, however, most notably with his interception. The pass was a forced throw and if Peterman had stayed on his first read, which was Ragas, then the Raiders would’ve had a first down instead of an interception.
One really strong positive from this outing was Peterman looked rather comfortable behind the Raiders’ new offensive line. Both Alex Leatherwood and new center Andre James looked strong up front, which bodes well for the starters on offense this season.
Running backs
Trey Ragas: 13 carries, 62 yards, TD | 5 targets, 3 receptions, 20 yards
BJ Emmons: 9 carries, 45 yards, TD
Bo Scarbrough: 4 carries, 10 yards
Garrett Groshek: 2 carries, 2 yards | 1 target, 1 reception, 6 yards
Trey Ragas will be on a team in 2021, I don’t know if it’s the Raiders, but he will be somewhere in the NFL. Ragas is a patient, tough, downhill runner. Right before his TD run, he was stuffed at the line and on 4th and goal he found the hole and burst through it.
.@TreyRagas? More like Trey Vegas 😉
First game, first drive, first TD.
📺 FOX5 Vegas | 📱 Raiders app pic.twitter.com/fdXIeDiFvM
— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) August 15, 2021
Ragas had eight carries of 6 yards or more and averaged 4.8 YPC, and it’s not only the rushing upside that makes him good. We saw late in the 4th quarter Ragas saved Peterman from getting hammered by a blitzing safety. This guy, who the commentary both dubbed Trey “Vegas” is someone to watch the rest of the preseason.
One other standout was BJ Emmons, who showed great balance in a 22-yard run where he broke a tackle that spun him around and then went and got more yards. Emmons may not be an every-down back but he’s got some change of pace feel to him. Plus he had a nice leap over the pile at the end of the game for a TD.
💥💥💥
B.J. Emmons extends the lead 🙌
📺 FOX5 Vegas | 📱 Raiders app pic.twitter.com/3lgebrTP9K
— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) August 15, 2021
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
Zay Jones: 3 targets, 3 receptions, 57 yards
Keelen Doss: 6 targets, 6 receptions, 55 yards
DJ Turner: 8 targets, 7 receptions, 43 yards | 2 carries, 7 yards
Nick Bowers: 2 targets, 2 receptions, 18 yards
Dillon Stoner: 2 targets, 1 reception, 15 yards
Marcell Ateman: 5 targets, 2 receptions, 14 yards
Derek Carrier: 2 targets, 2 receptions, 11 yards
Matt Bushman: 1 target, 1 reception, 5 yards
Alex Ellis: 1 target, 1 reception, 2 yards
Zay Jones looks poised to become the 3rd wide receiver next to Ruggs and Edwards in the Raiders’ offense. You saw the highlights in Peterman’s blurb, and they were pretty dang good. Zay looked good in his lone drive and if he can keep this level of play up it seems like he finally may be poised for a role in the Raiders’ offense.
DJ Turner, an undrafted free agent out of Pitt, showed that he could be an option as a gadget player, starting off his night with a 6-yard end-around. Turner ran mostly short routes and collected 7 receptions while averaging 6.1 yards per reception. Then there was Keelen Doss, catching all of his targets while making a nice 17-yard catch that helped set up a Raider field goal. Doss looks like he’ll play himself into a backup role for Bryan Edwards.
If the Raiders choose to have 3 tight ends this year, Nick Bowers might have a leg up as a receiver and blocker combo. Bowers caught both of his targets and was integral to the rushing game when he was blocking. Marcell Ateman is probably not going to make the team. He had two drops and he definitely didn’t make the most of his opportunities.
— Justin Herrera (@Semtexmex93 on Twitter).