The Seattle Seahawks took advantage of three Oakland turnovers to hold off the feisty Raiders 30-24 at CenturyLink Field on Sunday. Our takeaways:
- Marshawn Lynch piled up 143 total yards and two rushingtouchdowns as the unquestioned centerpiece of Seattle's offensive game plan. Beast Mode ran with fresh legs and helped offset a Russell Wilson-led passing game that generated just 45 yards at the half. For all the hand-wringing over Seattle's perceived departure from a run-first philosophy, we're much more concerned with their paltry air attack.
- Wilson's scant numbers -- 17-of-35 passing for 179 yards -- had plenty to do with Oakland's active pass rush. Taking advantage of a Seahawks line missing tackle Russell Okung and center Max Unger, the Raiders repeatedly flushed Wilson out of the pocket and forced the Super Bowl-winning quarterback into a bevy of bubble screens and throws into the flats. His 5.1 yards per attempt were Wilson's second-lowest total all season.
- Raiders quarterback Derek Carr continues to impress with each start, but the rookie made too many mistakes out of the gate. After throwing a first-quarter pick six to Seahawks pass-rusher Bruce Irvin, Carr ended Oakland's next drive with a Richard Shermaninterception that helped Seattle carve out a 17-3 lead they wouldn't lose.
- After seeing just five snaps against the Browns last week, Raiders cornerback D.J. Hayden was a fixture in Oakland's secondary. It was a rough outing, though, as last year's first-rounder dropped a pair of would-be interceptions while hurting the Raiders with a killer pass interference call that set up Seattle's first touchdown. He also drew a flag for taunting.
- It wasn't their most impressive triumph, but keep in mind that the Seahawks marched into Sunday minus safety Kam Chancellor, cornerback Byron Maxwell and linebackers Bobby Wagner and Malcolm Smith. Sitting alone in second place in the NFC West behind the surging Cardinals, Seattle has two games left against both Arizona and San Francisco along with one more shot at the Rams. Their season is just getting started.
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