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Defense Struggles, Rookies Flash: Raiders vs. Seahawks Breakdown
Standouts, struggles, and storylines from the Raiders’ preseason debut — plus what it all means as the team gears up for the regular season.
Jesse Merrick
August 08, 2025
QUOTE OF THE DAY“I just gave him a one-two at the top of the route, and he bit on it. We were running slants most of the game, and that’s what he was reacting to, and once I gave him the one-two and he bit on it, I just took off.” — Shedrick Jackson, Raiders Wide Receiver on his 41-yard receiving touchdown. |  Photo Courtesy: Arnie Bazemore |
In today’s newsletter, we’re breaking down the Raiders’ preseason opener against the Seattle Seahawks. We’ll start with the offense first.
A TALE OF TWO HALVES
We’ve waited all offseason to catch a glimpse of the Raiders new look offense in a real game. Thursday night in Seattle, we finally got our chance to see what they could do. Four plays and a punt. Yup, that’s all. Sure, that’s par for the course in the preseason but it still leaves fans with a bit (or more) to be desired.
Things looked promising out of the gates, off a run fake to Ashton Jeanty that the whole defense bit on, Geno Smith hit Tre Tucker on a comeback for a gain of 15 yards and a first down. Then Ashton Jeanty got his first carry, taking the handoff for a three yard gain. But then a pair of drops from Dont’e Thornton and Jakobi Meyers sent most of the starters packing. Not exactly a large sample size but Geno says it was still a beneficial experience for the ones.
“I think just calling plays in the huddle with the real crowd, having the clock, being up against the clock, all the mechanics it takes to go out there and execute and play football. I think those are the things we wanted to make sure we got done, and I thought we did.”
While most of the starters got the night off after that, Ashton Jeanty got one more series and two more carries. On his next touch we got a glimpse of what he can do, making a free rusher miss with a spin move right after taking the handoff from Aidan. But the line didn’t hold up their end of the bargain on the rest of the guys and he was stuffed for a loss of four yards. He’d finish with three carries for -1 yard. Don’t worry though, you’re not the only ones who were left wanting more.
“Miserable looking first quarter. We kind of hung in the game as far as trying to win the game. We didn't run the ball very well in the first half. We didn't do very much of anything very well.”
Aidan O’Connell came in and threw a pair of interceptions. The first a wildly under thrown ball to Thornton and on the second one, he stared down Alex Bachman right off the snap and Nihemiah Pritchett made him pay.
“Not as good as I hoped it would. It’s frustrating because I’ve had a good camp so far, so disappointed in how I played…“I thought I could have done a better job at getting the ball out of my hands and staying ahead of the sticks. I was holding onto the ball too much, not helping the guys out so it was on me. Just have to do a better job, and the offensive line is working on that stuff. Have to get the ball out of my hands.”
All told Aidan finished the day going 18-for-30 for 205 yards, one touchdown pass, and those two interceptions. To his credit he did play much better in the second half and looked more like the guy we’ve seen at camp in the third quarter.
Aidan might not have won many fans over but it was quiet the contrary for Cam Miller. On his second pass of the night he ripped off a 41-yard bomb to Shedrick Jackson for a touchdown on a double move. He’d finish with an efficient 6-for-7 night for 76 yards and that one passing touchdown. Miller mentioned he’s a rhythm player and he definitely found his rhythm in Seattle. I’m curious to see what he puts on tape with a (likely) larger sample size in the next game against the Niners.
We can’t for get about Dylan Laube. The second year back was one of the bright spots on offense. He rushed for 34 yards on five carries, good for an average of 6.8 yards per rush, had one receiving touchdown, and followed that up with a big tackle on the ensuing kickoff to pin the Seahawks back in their own area.
“It was awesome. It was so much fun. I had so much fun out there and the whole team too, (they) were so excited for me, too. It was one of the best feelings that I've ever had so far.”
For a deeper dive on the preseason opener, and my thoughts on Jordan Meredith and Jackson Powers-Johnson playing into the third quarter, check out the latest episode of the Silver and Black Sports Network Podcast:
MISS ANYTHING?
Catch up on some of our recent stories:
 Top Raiders to Watch in Preseason Opener + Bennett-for-Booker Trade Analysis— The Raiders kick off preseason in Seattle — here’s who to watch and what the Bennett-for-Booker trade means moving forward. |  Geno Smith Lights It Up + Safety Depth Takes a Hit— Geno dazzled in the mock game — but a blow to the safety group could change things on the back end. |
DEFENSE WAS DOWNRIGHT BAD
DefePhoto Courtesy: Arnie Bazemore
The first team offense wasn’t the only unit who struggled out of the gates. The ones on defense did too. Seattle ran the ball at will right from the jump, they broke tackles and consistenly beat the Raiders to the edge. George Holani even rushed for 61 yards (8.6. yards per carry) and a touchdown in the first quarter alone. Pete wasn’t happy but alluded to the fact that some of their struggles came when they run blitzed.
“We made some really glaring errors. We made errors. Couple times when we were pressuring, we just didn't hit stuff clean enough. But as the game went on, we played way better. I thought they did a nice job running the football. I thought that was a really obvious part of their game. In the end we need to do better.”
It wasn’t all bad though, even though Seattle was marching down the field on that first drive, Isaiah Pola-Mao slammed the door shut with a diving interception. For a team that was third worst in the league in turnover differential last season (-16) that’s a big positive to come away with a takeaway early on.
I’ll be honest, there wasn’t a ton that sparked my interest on defense on Thursday. I thought it was a pretty rough outing. We’ve seen a lot of “pop” periods at practice so far, which I think is the right way to handle NFL practices in the preseason. But the way they tackled against Seattle I’m sure we’ll see more of an emphasis placed on tackling this coming week.
Jamal Adams is a guy we’ve talked about a couple times in the podcast and in the newsletter. He’s an interesting piece and he came away with three tackles in the loss to the Seahawks. He did flash his speed as a WILL linebacker a couple times and just looks like he can be an effective rotational player for this team going forward.
We also got our first look at Thomas Booker IV, can’t say I saw that coming. The guy didn’t even get a chance to go through a real practice with the team but he apparently told the staff he wanted to get out there and show them what he could do. He only registered one tackle but he was flying around out there and really caught my eye. I made my thoughts on the trade clear but I do think he’s an intriguing piece for Patrick Graham and this defense going forward. He looks like a versatile, high motor player, and you can never have enough guys like that.
FANSHOTZ FRIDAY
Photo Courtesy: Arnie Bazemore
“FanShotz Friday”
By now, you have seen the phenomenal photos we’ve been using in many of our newsletters. They’re some of the best shots you’ll find of your favorite team, captured through the lens of our friend Arnie Bazemore of Fanshotz.com. Every Friday, we’ll feature Arnie’s favorite Raiders shot of the week that he captures at practice or on game day. This week we’re featuring Arnie’s awesome shot of Cam Miller in the Raiders’ preseason opener against the Seahawks. Check out his work at his site linked above and reach out if you’re interested in working with him. He’s a great guy and has been so supportive of me over the years when I was at NBC here in Vegas, and he’s come along for the ride with Silver & Black Sports Network, too.
WHAT’S NEXT?
The Raiders aren’t scheduled to get back out on the practice field til Saturday afternoon. So we’ll be off till then.
But remember, when the Raiders practice, we podcast! So with that in mind, make sure you keep your eyes and ears peeled for another episode of the Silver & Black Sports Network Podcast after practice on Saturday.
Next week will be fun with the 49ers in town for a joint practice on Thursday. We’re also going to try and get some more guests on the pod for you guys next week too, so keep an eye out for some announcements on who will be joining me on the show.
Catch ya next time,
Silver & Black Sports Network is an independent media outlet. We are not affiliated with, endorsed, or sponsored by the Las Vegas Raiders or the NFL.
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