Seahawks get reality check with home OT loss to Raiders, Josh Jacobs

The bloom appears to be off the rose, as the Cinderella story that had been the Seattle Seahawks‘ 2022 season ground to a halt on Sunday.

Returning from their bye week, the Seahawks failed to put away the pesky Las Vegas Raiders at home, falling in overtime when running back Josh Jacobs sliced through the middle of Seattle’s defense for an 86-yard touchdown to end the game, 40-34 in overtime.

“His Madden rating on speed should go up after that,” joked Raiders quarterback Derek Carr. “To do it at the end of the game for the win and run that far — you don’t see running backs get free a lot, and for some guys it’s not their style or whatever. To see Josh be able to finish like that was really cool.”

The run was the longest of Jacobs’ four-year NFL career, the fourth-longest overtime touchdown from scrimmage in NFL history and the Raiders’ longest play from scrimmage this season.

The setback was Seattle’s (6-5) second loss in a row, as they dropped a game behind the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC West standings. The 49ers (7-4) shut out the New Orleans Saints at home, 13-0.

Seattle quarterback Geno Smith had worked his way into the MVP conversation with his efficient play through the first half of the season. However, the West Virginia product had an uneven performance against the Raiders.

Smith finished 27-of-37 for 328 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. Smith also lost a fumble and was sacked three times. He failed to lead the Seahawks to a first down in the team’s only possession in overtime.

“The reality is we’ve gone from the hunter to the hunted,” Smith said. “People want to play us. And as a young team, we’ve got to learn how to go out there and win those games — that’s the next step in our evolution. We’ve got to understand the moment, capture the moment and take advantage. We had plenty of opportunities to go out there and win that game, finish it late. And we just didn’t get it done.”

The Seahawks had trouble stopping Jacobs all game. The Alabama product carried Las Vegas on offense, totaling 229 rushing yards on 33 carries, his fifth 100-yard performance this season. Jacobs also had 74 receiving yards, finishing with 303 from scrimmage.

The Seahawks allowed 283 rushing yards to the Raiders. Opposing running games were something they struggled with earlier in the season but seemed to correct a month ago.

“We’ve got to fix it. Everybody’s going to expose it if we don’t fix it,” said Seattle safety Quandre Diggs, who finished with two interceptions on the day. “We fixed it for a little bit, and it showed its head again. At the end of the day, if we don’t stop the run, we’re not going to be able to do anything. It starts with everybody.”

The victory was the second straight overtime win for the Raiders. Last week Davante Adams was the hero, catching a wide-open pass from Carr and taking it 35 yards for the winning score on the road against the Denver Broncos.

The Raiders improved to 4-7 with the win. Entering Sunday’s contest, the Seahawks had won five straight games against the Raiders.

For his NFL career, Carr is 9-1 in overtime games, has engineered 27 fourth-quarter comebacks and 33 game-winning drives.

Las Vegas kicker Daniel Carlson could have given the Raiders the lead midway through the extra period but pushed a 56-yard field goal wide left. Before the missed kick, Carlson had made 16 field goals in a row in the fourth quarter and overtime, the longest active streak in the league, and 11 consecutive field goals from 50 yards or longer.

But it didn’t matter for the Raiders, as the Las Vegas defense forced a Seattle three-and-out, creating the opportunity for Jacobs’ heroics.

Linebacker Denzel Perryman led the Las Vegas defense with nine combined tackles and an interception, while defensive end Mason Crosby totaled four tackles, 1.5 sacks and six quarterback hits.

“Things are still in our control,” Seattle veteran receiver Tyler Lockett said. “It kind of sucks to see what took place, but everything we want is still in front of us. It’s not going to be something that’s easy. Sometimes in life we want stuff to be easy, to where you don’t have to work to the point where it’s like — either you get it, or you don’t.

“For us, we’ve just got to be able to go back to the drawing board. This was a game that showed us if you want it, you’ve got to take it. It’s not going to be handed to you.”

Eric D. Williams has reported on the NFL for more than a decade, covering the Los Angeles Rams for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Chargers for ESPN and the Seattle Seahawks for the Tacoma News Tribune. Follow him on Twitter at @eric_d_williams.