3 takeaways from Raiders’ preseason opener: Offense starts slow

SEATTLE — As far as first impressions go, the Raiders have work to do.

They were badly outplayed by the Seattle Seahawks in the first half of their preseason opener Thursday at Lumen Field.

The Raiders briefly played their starters, mostly against the Seahawks’ backups. They still struggled in coach Pete Carroll’s first game. Seattle scored on three of its five possessions in the first half, while the Raiders sabotaged themselves with five penalties and two turnovers.

“It was a miserable-looking first quarter,” Carroll said.

Things improved in the second half and the team went on to force a 23-23 tie. Kicker Daniel Carlson even had a chance to win the game with a 55-yard field goal as time expired, but his kick was blocked.

Here are three takeaways from the Raiders’ first of three preseason games:

1. Sloppy start on offense

Quarterback Geno Smith and the first-team offense made an appearance Thursday, but didn’t stick around long.

Their night started strong, as Smith connected with third-year wide receiver Tre Tucker for a 15-yard gain. The drive went downhill in a hurry after that.

Dropped passes by rookie wide receiver Dont’e Thornton Jr. and wide receiver Jakobi Meyers sabotaged the drive and forced the Raiders to punt.

Smith and most of the starters didn’t return after that first possession.

“I thought we started out really slow,” Smith said. “That’s kind of to be expected for a first preseason game. A lot of different rotations, a lot of different players in there. Guys gotta get used to tackling, getting hit, all the things that preseason brings.”

Things didn’t get much better when backup quarterback Aidan O’Connell came on in relief.

The Raiders were called for three penalties on O’Connell’s first drive. Thornton lined up offside, fellow rookie wide receiver Jack Bech drew an illegal formation flag and O’Connell earned an intentional grounding call. AJ Cole was back on the field to punt before long.

O’Connell’s second drive wasn’t an improvement. The 2023 fourth-round pick underthrew Thornton on a deep ball and was picked off by cornerback Josh Jobe. A better throw could have resulted in a touchdown.

O’Connell was picked off again in the second quarter by cornerback Nehemiah Pritchett, setting up a 48-yard field goal for Seattle kicker Jason Myers.

“It’s frustrating because I thought I’ve been having a good camp and I was disappointed in how I played tonight,” O’Connell said. “Obviously, can’t turn the ball over and just have to stay ahead of the sticks to help the team out.”

O’Connell did throw a touchdown pass to second-year running back Dylan Laube on the Raiders’ first drive of the third quarter. He completed 18 of his 30 passes on the night for 205 yards.

2. Defense pushed around

The Raiders’ first team defense also got one series against Seattle. It ended on a positive note when safety Isaiah Pola-Mao intercepted backup quarterback Drew Lock.

Still, the plays leading up to the pick weren’t pretty. Running back George Holani had gains of 5, 8 and 18 yards. Lock had a 17-yard completion to fullback Robbie Ouzts. Pola-Mao’s interception at the Raiders’ 9-yard line stopped a potential scoring drive.

The second-team defense fared even worse the next Seahawks possession. Defensive lineman Jonah Laulu was called for two holding penalties. The run defense was spotty, which led to Holani busting a 24-yard touchdown run that gave the Seattle a 7-0 lead with 39 seconds left in the first quarter.

The Seahawks had another long touchdown drive in the second quarter. Lock capped it off with a 10-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Tory Horton to put Seattle up 13-3 with 6:37 left before halftime.

The Raiders gave up 222 total yards in the first half and allowed the Seahawks to convert seven of their 10 third downs. Carroll still has plenty of work to do.

3. Rookies get their feet wet.

The Raiders’ 2025 draft class didn’t get off to a flying start. But things got better.

First-round pick Ashton Jeanty lost one yard on his three carries. Bech, a second-round pick, and Thornton, a fourth-round selection, each had one catch in addition to their penalties.

There were some bright spots on defense. Third-round pick Darien Porter had two tackles at cornerback. Fourth-round pick Tonka Hemingway had three tackles in the first half at defensive tackle and added a pass deflection.

Quarterback Cam Miller, a sixth-round pick out of North Dakota State, provided a spark in the second half. Miller completed six of his seven passes for 76 yards and a touchdown.

Rookie defensive tackle Treven Ma’ae, who signed with the Raiders as an undrafted free agent, blocked a field goal and came up with a big sack late in the fourth quarter.

“We hung together on the sidelines and everybody kept fighting,” Carroll said. “And you could feel the surge of the comeback and you could feel it occuring. And that’s really important for these guys to understand that.”

Contact Vincent Bonsignore at vbonsignore@reviewjournal.com. Follow @VinnyBonsignore on X.