Raiders give fans plenty to cheer with 20-7 preseason opening win over Seahawks

Raiders give fans plenty to cheer with 20-7 preseason opening win over Seahawks

Preseason wins don’t usually hold much meaning. But this was not your typical preseason game. It was the first Raiders game of any kind at Allegiant with fans present. For that, it was important to the team to put on a show and send the fans in attendance away feeling good.

A day that began with a ribbon-cutting ceremony gave way to musical acts and ultimately an entertaining exhibition football game.

The Raiders led throughout, with usual third string quarterback Nathan Peterman playing all but one snap on offense and most of the veterans sitting this one out.

Getting the ball to start the game, the Raiders marched down and scored. The drive featured two big Peterman passes to Zay Jones for 28 and 21 yards and was finished off by a one-yard Trey Ragas run on fourth and goal.

On the defensive side, the Raiders held the Seahawks scoreless in the first half with three punts. The highlight was a hard sack by Nate Hobbs on a corner blitz that nearly caused QB Geno Smith to fumble the ball.

At halftime Carlos Santana treated the crowd to a performance that had the stadium buzzing into the second half.

In the third quarter, the Seahawks got on the board with a Deejay Dallas catch in the right flat in which there was a clear missed assignment and Dallas streaked 43 yards to paydirt.

That was the only Seattle score on the day and the Raiders cruised to a 20-7 win.

Peterman finished the day 29 of 39 for 246 yards and an interception. Jones was his leading receiver with three catches for 57 yards. DJ Turner led the team with seven catches for 43 yards while Keelan Doss caught all six passes thrown his way for 55 yards.

Leading the way on the ground was Ragas with 13 carries for 62 yards and a touchdown. Fellow running back BJ Emmons carried the ball nine times for 45 yards and a touchdown of his own on a dive from the two-yard line.

Getting the start at linebacker, UNLV alum Javin White led the team with six tackles.