The Seahawks head into Week 10 with a chance to steady things in the NFC West, but Sunday’s trip to Allegiant Stadium brings a few matchups that could swing the game in either direction.
Seattle is coming off a 17-3 win over the Arizona Cardinals, while Las Vegas enters with a little more momentum than it had a year ago. The Raiders have already matched and surpassed last season’s total by one win, and they’ll try to make life difficult for Mike Macdonald’s team with Drew Lock expected to make his second straight start.
One of the biggest questions sits right at the line of scrimmage, where Seattle’s defense will face a Raiders offense trying to survive with Fernando Mendoza making his first NFL start. That’s a tough assignment against the league’s top-ranked defense, especially with Las Vegas struggling to get anything going on the ground.
The Raiders are averaging just 71.2 rushing yards per game, rank next-to-last in the league, and have been held under 100 rushing yards in six straight games. They’ve also finished with fewer than 20 running plays in three of their last five contests.
Seattle’s run game hasn’t looked the same as it did a season ago, when Kenneth Walker III and Zach Charbonnet carried much of the load. After nine games last year, the Seahawks were averaging 114.3 rushing yards per game, with Walker and Charbonnet combining for 852 of the team’s 1,029 yards on the ground and nine of the club’s 11 rushing touchdowns.
This season, Walker is gone and Charbonnet has had a lighter workload, yet Seattle is still averaging 110.8 rushing yards per game. The difference has been the lack of consistency.
Four different players have already gone for at least 100 rushing yards and 20 carries, and Charbonnet led the team last week with 16 carries for 77 yards against Arizona.
That ground battle matters because the Raiders have been vulnerable there all season. Las Vegas is allowing 385.4 total yards per game, worst in the league, and 151.2 rushing yards per game, also the league’s worst mark. Nakobe Dean, a 2026 free-agent pickup, leads the team with 99 tackles and could be in for a busy afternoon.
Then there’s the passing game, where Brock Bowers gives Las Vegas a real threat. The Raiders’ top target leads the team with 48 catches, 658 yards and six touchdowns, and entering Week 10, Las Vegas ranked fifth in the league in passing yards per game. Bowers is also the top-graded player at his position by Pro Football Focus at 90.4, ahead of George Kittle’s 82.4.
That puts Julian Love in the spotlight again. Seattle’s safety has been tested all season by elite tight ends, and this week is no different.
Love is PFF’s No. 13 safety, and only six players at his position have a higher coverage grade. He’s tied for the team lead with two interceptions and leads the Seahawks with six passes defensed.
In Other News...
Raiders May Finally Be Ready To Unleash Ashton Jeanty
Ashton Jeantys rookie season has already shown both sides of what makes him such an important piece for the Raiders. His rushing efficiency has dipped since Week 1, with injuries and uneven offensive line play helping to slow the ground game, but his impact has hardly disappeared. Even as the carries have been less explosive, Jeanty has become a major part of the passing attack, entering Week 10 as the NFLs leader among running backs in receptions and receiving yards.
Now the Raiders appear to be setting him up for a bigger second-half role after their trade for rookie quarterback Fernando Mendoza. For a team that has been searching for more rhythm on offense, the move could open more space for Jeanty and give the running game a better chance to find traction. If the passing game and backfield usage start to sync up, Las Vegas may finally be ready to lean into the kind of weapon Jeanty was drafted to be. [Read more 🡒]
Raiders Defensive Mess Now Puts Rob Leonard In The Spotlight
Following the loss to the 49ers, Rob Leonard found himself answering for a defense that has been too easy to score on and too inconsistent to trust. The Raiders defensive coordinator said he appreciated coach Klint Kubiaks public backing, but the bigger issue is the units play on the field, where Las Vegas has been giving up a league-worst 29.8 points per game this season.
Leonards comments landed on a day when Kubiak also made another notable call, announcing Fernando Mendoza as the starting quarterback for the next game. For a Raiders team trying to steady itself on both sides of the ball, the defensive conversation is now impossible to separate from the larger urgency around the roster, and Leonard is the one carrying the spotlight until the group starts showing more consistency. [Read more 🡒]
Raiders Trade For Kirk Cousins Looks Different After Vikings Decision
Minnesotas decision to keep Kirk Cousins under center in Week 10 adds another layer to a trade that already had plenty of weight for Las Vegas. The Raiders sent Cousins to the Vikings in a deal that brought back a third-round pick, and the move now looks even more consequential given how much of the offense he had handled in 2026 before the swap.
For the Raiders, the trade was never just about moving on from a veteran quarterback, it was about betting on the value of the return and the direction of the roster. Cousins had started nine games in Las Vegas, completing 64.1 percent of his passes with 20 touchdowns and eight interceptions, so Minnesotas willingness to put him back in the lineup only sharpens the question of what the Raiders gave up and what they still need to answer at the position. [Read more 🡒]