The Seahawks will meet the Raiders on Sunday at Allegiant Stadium, and the game has changed shape because Fernando Mendoza is set for his first NFL start. The Raiders turned to the rookie after Kirk Cousins was traded to the Vikings this week, giving Las Vegas a new quarterback heading into Week 10.
That is the kind of switch Seattle cannot ignore. The Seahawks enter at 5-4 after beating the Cardinals last weekend, and Mike Macdonald said the matchup feels like a divisional game because there is so much familiarity between the teams even if the situation is different now.
The numbers explain why Seattle has reason to feel good about its defense. The Seahawks have allowed the fewest yards and passing yards in the NFL this season and the fourth fewest points, which gives them a strong base against a Raiders offense that has changed course under first-year head coach Klint Kubiak. Kubiak opened his tenure by winning his first three games, but the Raiders have since lost five of their last six.
What makes this harder to pin down is Mendoza himself. Byron Murphy II said Seattle has no tape on him, and that matters because the defense does not yet have a long list of tendencies or weak spots to target. Murphy also said Mendoza can make all the throws, which leaves the Seahawks preparing for a quarterback they know only in pieces.
That uncertainty is what gives Sunday weight. Seattle can lean on a defense built to travel, but the Raiders can also shape the game around a passer the Seahawks have barely seen. The next answer will come in Las Vegas, where Mendoza’s first start will show whether the Raiders can settle fast enough to make this look like something more than a stopgap.
