PLAYER NOTES
–RB Rashaad Penny has grown “frustrated” by lack of playing time, as he didn’t log a single offensive snap against the Rams with Chris Carson and Mike Davis running so effectively. Head coach Pete Carroll said he’s handled the situation with class and he’s excited for Penny to “get in there and get going too.”
–WR Doug Baldwin: When questioned about Baldwin’s health coming off an MCL sprain, head coach Pete Carroll said his one-catch performance last Sunday wasn’t impacted by lingering injuries and the ball “just didn’t go to him.” The Seahawks only threw 21 passes against the Rams, thus limiting his opportunities, and the veteran receiver finished with one catch for one yard.
–LB K.J. Wright: Seattle will have to go without the Pro Bowl linebacker for at least one more week, as the Seahawks don’t want to rush him back into the lineup with the bye week coming after Sunday’s game in London. Head coach Pete Carroll said he’ll be “running hard this week,” but it’d be too much to ask him to return this weekend and he’ll miss his sixth consecutive game recovering from knee surgery.
–CB Tre Flowers continues to impress, as he deflected a pass at the goal line in the first quarter against the Rams and DE Frank Clark eventually hauled in the interception. He also recovered a fumble, but the play didn’t count due to a defensive penalty on teammate Justin Coleman.
–FS Tedric Thompson: In his first NFL start filling in for injured star Earl Thomas, Thompson recorded seven tackles and an interception. But he also missed several tackles and dropped a potential interception in the second quarter, leaving plenty of room for improvement heading into his next start versus the Raiders.
PLAYER SPOTLIGHT: LB Barkevious Mingo. While his performance went largely unnoticed in last week’s loss to the Rams, Mingo played admirably after receiving crash course training on playing weak-side linebacker with K.J. Wright still sidelined and Mychal Kendricks suspended indefinitely. Previously, the former first-round pick had been seeing snaps at the SAM linebacker spot while also rushing the passer at defensive end on passing downs in Seattle’s nickel package and serving as a core special teams player. Learning a new position on the fly, Mingo registered a season-best seven combined tackles and recorded a quarterback hit against Jared Goff that prevented an explosive pass play. With the Seahawks struggling to rush the passer, he will need to bring some heat off the edge to put similar pressure on Derek Carr this weekend.
GAME PLAN: With the running game operating beautifully in recent weeks, the Seahawks can’t take the foot off the pedal facing a Raiders team that ranks near the bottom of the NFL in rushing yards surrendered per game and yards per carry average. As offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer did masterfully last week against the Rams, building off the run game with explosive play-action passes will be pivotal, as the Raiders secondary has been in flux rotating players in and out of the lineup searching for answers. With the Raiders tied for last in the league in sacks following the decision to trade linebacker Khalil Mack to the Bears, quarterback Russell Wilson should have ample time to throw and allow receivers to execute downfield routes behind a rapidly improving offensive line.
The Raiders have been a bit of a mystery offensively, as they sit in the top five in the NFL in total yardage but rank only 22nd overall in scoring. Quarterback Derek Carr leads the league with a 71.3 percent completion percentage, but he’s also been turnover prone, throwing a league-worst eight interceptions in five games, including three interceptions in the end zone to squelch scoring drives. Even with Thomas out and lacking much of a consistent pass rush, Seattle intercepted Goff twice last week and sits second in the NFL in turnovers nearing the midway point of the season. The Raiders offensive line has been banged up and the Seahawks will need to exploit playing against rookie tackles Kolton Miller and Brandon Parker by hitting Carr early to force him into bad throws. If he’s comfortable in the pocket, he can still torch opposing secondaries with receiving threats Amari Cooper, Jordy Nelson, Martavis Bryant, and Jared Cook at his disposal and Lynch available to hand off to.
MATCHUPS TO WATCH
–Seahawks DE Frank Clark vs. Raiders LT Kolton Miller. The Raiders have been dealing with an injury epidemic at the tackle spots offensively, already losing veteran Donald Penn to injured reserve last week. Now Miller reportedly has a Grade II MCL sprain which he struggled to play through against the Chargers. Even with their best pass rusher in Joey Bosa sidelined, the Chargers overwhelmed the first-round pick out of UCLA, as he surrendered three sacks. Oakland has been starting two rookies at the tackle spots, and if Miller continues to play at far less than 100 percent, this could be a nightmare matchup working against Clark, who has 3.0 sacks and five quarterback hits this season.
–Seahawks WRs Doug Baldwin and Tyler Lockett vs. Raiders secondary. Baldwin has been injured most of the year and has only six receptions for 42 yards in three games, but this could be the ideal game for the Pro Bowler to find his groove. First-round pick Gareon Conley (2016) has seen his snap count diminish in recent weeks due to poor play and the return of veteran Daryl Worley from suspension last week that relegated him to the sideline most of Sunday’s loss to the Chargers. Veteran Dominque Rodgers-Cromartie appears to be on the downside of his career, while Rashaan Melvin is a journeyman who has played for six NFL teams in six seasons. With the Raiders experimenting to find the right mix at cornerback, both Baldwin and the speedy Lockett could capitalize on the dysfunction with big plays in the passing game.
