NFL Week 6 London Game - Marshawn Lynch's Revenge
October 11th, 2018
Marshawn Lynch battles his former team when the Oakland Raiders take on the Seattle Seahawks at Wembley Stadium in the Week 6 London game on Sunday. Beast Mode's revenge isn’t the only storyline as the Raiders search for their second win of the season and Seattle hopes to get back to .500. Who takes it in the clash at Wembley? Check out odds, analysis, and a free pick for Seahawks vs Oakland!
In the early 1980’s, Seahawks versus Raiders became one of the top rivalries in the NFL. Both were powerhouse franchises that competed for playoff berths and terrorized the rest of the league.
The rivalry ended after the 2001 season when Seattle changed conferences. Since 2001, the Raiders and Seahawks have battled each other 4 times with both teams winning a couple of games. The rivalry resumes with a twist on Sunday because Raiders running back Marshawn Lynch became a star while playing for Seattle.
Beast Mode was as much a part of the Seahawks’ Super Bowl winning team as the Legion of Boom. That season, Lynch rushed for 1,257 yards and scored 12 rushing TDs. The next season, Lynch was great again, piling up 1,306 yards and 17 total touchdowns. The Seahawks would face the Patriots, and have a chance to ice the game on the goal line when...well, you know how that ended. Despite signing a $24 million extension the following year, Lynch struggled with injuries and retired at the culmination of a disappointing 2015 campaign.
After taking a year off, Beast Mode returned last year to play for his native Oakland. It was a weird process that involved the Seahawks have to trade their former franchise star to the Raiders. Lynch has no love for Seattle, especially after watching how the franchise has treated some of his former mates like Earl Thomas. Although the Seahawks might not harbor bad feelings, Lynch almost definitely does, cranking up the temperature in this newly revitalized rivalry.
Lynch is not the only "franchise star" who is set up for a classic revenge game. Sebastian Janakowski, a former first rounder for the Raiders, is now booting field goals for the Seahawks on the flip side. The Week 6 NFL London game has all sorts of great twists and story lines. It's just a shame that they didn't let Marshawn play in Seattle one more time.
Seahawks Offense vs Raiders Defense Seattle leaned on their rushing attack for the almost-win against the L.A. Rams in Week 4. It’s hard to see the Seahawks employing a different strategy in London because Oakland allows 127.2 rushing yards per.
The Raiders might not even have the personnel to adjust to stop the run. Oakland started 4 down linemen, 2 linebackers, 3 cornerbacks, and 2 safeties in their last. Free agent linebacker Derrick Johnson has been a bust with 11 solo tackles in 5 games.
Edge: Seahawks
Raiders Offense vs Seahawks Defense Of Oakland’s 411.2 yards per, 316 come via the pass. The Raiders only average 95.2 on the ground even though Lynch averages 4.3 yards per carry. If Oakland sticks to their pass-first philosophy, Seattle’s job becomes easy.
The Seahawks allow 226 passing yards, ranking 6th across the NFL. Jon Gruden won’t suddenly lean on Marshawn Lynch just because Beast Mode wants them to, which means Seattle will have a definitive advantage. It was easy to assume that Seattle would take a step back defensively with Earl Thomas sidelined - and they did - but the secondary showed a lot of life against the Rams. Seattle still plays with a ton of pace and high velocity impact on defense, and the Raiders have been a horrifically inconsistent offensive team.
Edge: Seattle
NFL Week 6 London Game Betting Analysis and ATS Prediction After opening at Seahawks -3, the line’s fallen a half a point, meaning early action sided with the Raiders. More NFL handicappers have gone to Seattle in recent days, though.
Trends might have something to do with it since Seahawks are 11-4-2 ATS in their last 17 after an SU loss while Raiders are 5-12-2 against the spread in their last 19.
A bigger concern for Raider backers is whether Gruden changes their philosophy and hands it off to Beast Mode. Gruden’s said he’d throw on the 1-yard line again, just like he did in the loss to the Chargers. That means the chances of changing Oakland’s philosophy is zero.
As much as I'd love to see Marshawn get his revenge here, the Raiders aren't playing like a top tier team. Seattle, meanwhile, is punching well above their weight class.
NFL Week 6 London Game Free Pick: Seahawks -2.5
NFL WEEK 6 LONDON GAME Seattle Seahawks vs. Oakland Raiders Sunday, October 14th – Wembley Stadium – 1:00pm ET Odds: Seahawks -3 (48)
Marshawn Lynch Adds Heat to Historic Rivalry It’s fitting that one of the forgotten rivalries in the NFL resumes at one of the most famous stadiums in the world. Most don’t remember that before Seattle jumped to the NFC West, every season they played the Raiders twice.In the early 1980’s, Seahawks versus Raiders became one of the top rivalries in the NFL. Both were powerhouse franchises that competed for playoff berths and terrorized the rest of the league.
The rivalry ended after the 2001 season when Seattle changed conferences. Since 2001, the Raiders and Seahawks have battled each other 4 times with both teams winning a couple of games. The rivalry resumes with a twist on Sunday because Raiders running back Marshawn Lynch became a star while playing for Seattle.
Beast Mode was as much a part of the Seahawks’ Super Bowl winning team as the Legion of Boom. That season, Lynch rushed for 1,257 yards and scored 12 rushing TDs. The next season, Lynch was great again, piling up 1,306 yards and 17 total touchdowns. The Seahawks would face the Patriots, and have a chance to ice the game on the goal line when...well, you know how that ended. Despite signing a $24 million extension the following year, Lynch struggled with injuries and retired at the culmination of a disappointing 2015 campaign.
After taking a year off, Beast Mode returned last year to play for his native Oakland. It was a weird process that involved the Seahawks have to trade their former franchise star to the Raiders. Lynch has no love for Seattle, especially after watching how the franchise has treated some of his former mates like Earl Thomas. Although the Seahawks might not harbor bad feelings, Lynch almost definitely does, cranking up the temperature in this newly revitalized rivalry.
Lynch is not the only "franchise star" who is set up for a classic revenge game. Sebastian Janakowski, a former first rounder for the Raiders, is now booting field goals for the Seahawks on the flip side. The Week 6 NFL London game has all sorts of great twists and story lines. It's just a shame that they didn't let Marshawn play in Seattle one more time.
Seahawks Offense vs Raiders Defense Seattle leaned on their rushing attack for the almost-win against the L.A. Rams in Week 4. It’s hard to see the Seahawks employing a different strategy in London because Oakland allows 127.2 rushing yards per.
The Raiders might not even have the personnel to adjust to stop the run. Oakland started 4 down linemen, 2 linebackers, 3 cornerbacks, and 2 safeties in their last. Free agent linebacker Derrick Johnson has been a bust with 11 solo tackles in 5 games.
Edge: Seahawks
Raiders Offense vs Seahawks Defense Of Oakland’s 411.2 yards per, 316 come via the pass. The Raiders only average 95.2 on the ground even though Lynch averages 4.3 yards per carry. If Oakland sticks to their pass-first philosophy, Seattle’s job becomes easy.
The Seahawks allow 226 passing yards, ranking 6th across the NFL. Jon Gruden won’t suddenly lean on Marshawn Lynch just because Beast Mode wants them to, which means Seattle will have a definitive advantage. It was easy to assume that Seattle would take a step back defensively with Earl Thomas sidelined - and they did - but the secondary showed a lot of life against the Rams. Seattle still plays with a ton of pace and high velocity impact on defense, and the Raiders have been a horrifically inconsistent offensive team.
Edge: Seattle
NFL Week 6 London Game Betting Analysis and ATS Prediction After opening at Seahawks -3, the line’s fallen a half a point, meaning early action sided with the Raiders. More NFL handicappers have gone to Seattle in recent days, though.
Trends might have something to do with it since Seahawks are 11-4-2 ATS in their last 17 after an SU loss while Raiders are 5-12-2 against the spread in their last 19.
A bigger concern for Raider backers is whether Gruden changes their philosophy and hands it off to Beast Mode. Gruden’s said he’d throw on the 1-yard line again, just like he did in the loss to the Chargers. That means the chances of changing Oakland’s philosophy is zero.
As much as I'd love to see Marshawn get his revenge here, the Raiders aren't playing like a top tier team. Seattle, meanwhile, is punching well above their weight class.
NFL Week 6 London Game Free Pick: Seahawks -2.5
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