Next up for the Oakland Raiders, a trip to the Big Easy to take on the New Orleans Saints in Week 1 of the regular season.
The Silver and Black wrapped up the preseason Saturday night at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, falling to the Seattle Seahawks 23-21.
As expected, the majority of the Raiders starters didn't play at all in the preseason finale, instead watching the duration of the game from the sidelines in pads, ceding the evening's work to the younger players on the depth chart.
Quarterback Matt McGloin started the game, and played the first quarter, completing 4 of 7 passes for 37 yards before departing in favor of rookie Connor Cook.
The Michigan State-product played the rest of the game after taking over for McGloin, ending his evening 15 of 30, for 145 yards and one interception.
The first half of Thursday's game turned into a defensive battle, with the only points before halftime coming as a result of a safety caused by an intentional grounding ruling.
With the Seahawks backed up deep in their own territory, linebacker/defensive end James Cowser was able to burst through the line of scrimmage and lay a big hit on quarterback Trevone Boykin, who was forced to throw the ball away while in the end zone with no receiver in the vicinity.
After the Raiders took an early 5-0 lead, the Seahawks stormed back, adding a pair of field goals, as well as two fourth quarter touchdowns to end the game with a 23-21 advantage.
The Raiders were able to find the end zone twice in the final minutes of the game, but a failed two-point conversion allowed the Seahawks to fly back to the Pacific Northwest with a win under their belt.
While the results of Thursday night's game didn't count, the Raiders were not able to escape the game free from injury. Veteran tackle Austin Howard – who started the preseason finale – was forced to leave in the second quarter with an apparent leg injury, and didn't return to action.
As odd as it sounds, the night belonged to punter Marquette King, who put on a kicking display, punting eight times, with five coming to rest inside the 20, including one 65-yard boot.
Rookie running back DeAndré Washington also enjoyed another quality game, catching four passes for 39 yards, in addition to his duties returning both punts and kicks.
With the preseason now officially over, the Raiders will return to practice Wednesday before traveling to New Orleans Friday in advance of their Week 1 matchup with Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints.
