The Las Vegas Raiders will play the Seattle Seahawks at Allegiant Stadium on Nov. 15 after naming Fernando Mendoza as their starting quarterback for the game.
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The Las Vegas Raiders will host the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks at Allegiant Stadium in Week 10, with kickoff set for Sunday, Nov. 15 at 1:05 p.m. PT.
Seattle is coached by Mike Macdonald and will start Drew Lock at quarterback. The Seahawks enter the matchup with a 5-4 record.
For Las Vegas, the Raiders are 4-5 and are averaging 26.4 points per game through nine games, an increase of more than 12 points per game compared to last year.
The teams are meeting after a coaching link that runs through the matchup: it was 10 months ago that Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak helped the Seahawks win the Lombardi Trophy as Seattle’s offensive coordinator, and the Seahawks averaged 33.6 points per game throughout the playoffs on the way to the title.
With Kubiak now in Las Vegas, Seattle’s scoring has dropped from 28.4 points per game under Kubiak last season to 22.4 points this year, a decrease that has moved the Seahawks from third in the NFL to 18th.
The Raiders’ offense will be led by rookie quarterback Fernando Mendoza, the No. 1 overall draft pick, who is set to make his first career start against the Seahawks. Mendoza was named the starter Tuesday after veteran Kirk Cousins was traded to Minnesota.
Kubiak said of Mendoza, “Our expectation is for him to lead the offense,” adding, “to lead the operation, and to go play a game here Sunday and be the leader of the team, be the leader of the offense. We have to prepare him and give him a lot of reps to get him comfortable.”
Mendoza’s only significant playing time this season came Oct. 11 in the fourth quarter of the Raiders’ 45-17 loss at New England, when he completed 6 of 8 passes for 48 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions.
On the defensive side, the Raiders will face a Seattle unit that the preview describes as top-tier, leading the league in fewest yards allowed at 2,198 and ranking in the top five in fewest yards allowed per play (4.1), points allowed per game (18), takeaways (13), passing yards (1,396) and quarterback pressure rate (27 percent).
The preview also listed key roster changes for the Seahawks and Raiders, including Seattle losses such as RB Kenneth Walker III, WR Dareke Young, DE Boye Mafe, S Coby Bryant and CB Riq Woolen, along with Raiders additions of RB Jadarian Price, RB Emanuel Wilson, G Quenton Nelson and LB Dante Fowler.
In the all-time series, the Raiders lead 29-25 (.537) against the Seahawks, and the most recent meeting in the evidence saw Las Vegas defeat Seattle 40-34 in overtime on Nov. 22, 2022.
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