Raiders vs. Seahawks Predictions

This week leads us to an all too familiar position of trying to win back-to-back games for the first time since the last two games of 2008. Both teams are coming off wins, with the Seahawks beating the Cardinals 22-10 and the Raiders pummeling the Broncos 59-14. The Seahawks currently stand alone at the top of the NFC West at 4-2, with the Raiders trailing the Chiefs by a game and a half. The Raiders and Seahawks have only met twice since the Seahawks left the division with each team winning one. The Seahawks won the last meeting 16-0. On to the predictions:

Raiders offense vs. Seahawks defense

The Raiders offense versus the Seahawks defense pits a strength against a strength and a weakness against a weakness. The Raiders rushing offense is third in the NFL but it will go up against the 2nd overall rushing defense in the Seahawks. The 'Hawks have only allowed 3.3 yards/carry so the Raiders should get a good test to see how well they can run the ball against one of the best. The Seahawks will be without their run-stopper in the middle and it showed up last week when the Cardinals were able to run effectively, gaining over 100 yards on the ground. The weakness for the Seahawks is in the pass defense where they currently rank 29th. The Raiders should also be struggling in this area as they will have to go with Campbell at QB and will be without their two top WR's in Murphy and Schilens. Rookie Jacoby Ford will get the start in place of Murphy. They will also use Nick Miller in three wide sets. Raiders offense should have confidence after the showing they had in Denver.

Advantage: Raiders

Raiders defense vs. Seahawks offense

The Seahawks are not very good in any area offensively. The rank 27th overall and only 25th in passing and 20th in rushing. They have an aging QB in Matt Hasselback and an unimpressive receiving corps led by former Raider Mike Williams. They have good RB's in Marshawn Lynch and Justin Forsett, but have not had a whole lot of success this year but have looked better the last couple of weeks. The Raiders defense has been up and down most of the year but has shown the ability to shut down a team completely. They have held 3 teams to under 250 yards total offense out of the seven games they've played. They also have only allowed one team to gain more than 192 yards through the air. They also play extremely spirited at home.

Advantage: Raiders

Special Teams

This is one area that the Seahawks have excelled at this year. Three of their four victories have come as a direct byproduct of their Special Teams. They ran back two kickoffs against the Chargers. The Raiders have been the usual selves on Special Teams. Lechler leads the league in punt average, Janikowski leads the league in touchbacks and points scored as well as field goals made. They have shown this year why they are the highest payed players at their positions. If the Raiders can keep the Seahawks from scoring on Special Teams, they should win their first back-to-back game this year.

Prediction: Raiders 24, Seahawks 14