The Seattle Seahawks held off a strong challenge from the Oakland Raiders to seal a 30-24 victory in their NFL clash to secure their fifth win of the season.
The visitors started the game well and moved the ball into Seattle territory as Derek Carr completed a series of passes. The Raiders managed to get into field goal range, which allowed Sebastian Janikowski to nail a kick from 48 yards to hand his side the lead.
Seattle rallied and took the lead on their first drive of the game when Russell Wilson marched his side downfield and managed to get to the goalline with the aid of a penalty.
Marshawn Lynch got in for the touchdown as he refused to go down after contact and was bundled over the line by his teammates.
The Seahawks extended their advantage at the end of the first quarter when Bruce Irvin picked off a pass from Carr and ran the ball back into the endzone for a 35-yard touchdown.
Seattle continued to pile on the points when Steven Hauschka knocked a field goal through the posts following an interception by Richard Sherman. However, Hauschka missed a 46-yarder following a fumble return on the ensuing kickoff.
Pete Carroll's side continued their dominance when Wilson drove his side downfield and once again in the redzone Lynch received the handoff and powered through a gap for a five-yard touchdown.
The Raiders had the perfect start to the second half as they forced a three and out. From the resulting punt Denico Autry crashed through the line to block the kick and Brice Butler recovered the ball in the endzone for the score.
Oakland brought themselves right back into the match at the end of the third quarter when Carr found tight end Mychal Rivera in the endzone for a one-yard touchdown.
Hauschka helped his side wrestle control of the match in the fourth quarter as he fired two field goals through the posts from 30 and 40 yards respectively to give them a 13-point lead late in the fourth quarter.
Carr led his side to one final touchdown drive as he found Rivera for his second score of the game with a one-yard pass off play-action.
The Raiders needed to gather an onside kick to keep their hopes of winning alive, but they failed to collect Janikowski's kickoff as the Seahawks sealed the win.
Simon Sinclair
