Top takeaways from Seahawks vs Raiders preseason tie

USA Today

a day ago

The Seattle Seahawks kissed their sisters to kick off the preseason with a 23-23 tie against the Las Vegas Raiders. Seattle sort of squandered a 23-13 lead in the fourth quarter by allowing 10-unanswered points from the Raiders in the final moments of the game, but they did preserve the... um, not loss(?)... by blocking Daniel Carlson's game-winning field goal attempt. It was a bizarre combination of excitement and weirdness at 10:30 pm to have every 12th Man scratching their heads on the way out.
Still, the Seahawks did not outright lose the game, and this contest was ultimately meaningless in the grand scheme of things. While the final score may not have mattered, there are plenty of aspects from this game that warrant further discussion. Here are the top takeaways from Seattle's preseason opening week tie.
George Holani wants to make the final roster
Last season, then-rookie George Holani did not survive the final roster cuts. While he did make it to Seattle's practice squad and even suited up for 5 games in 2024, he was ultimately a non-factor last year. Through one week of the preseason, it's evident Holani does not want this to be the case in 2025. Against the Raiders, the former Boise State Bronco bulldozed his way to 61 rushing yards and a touchdown on only seven carries. He even hauled in one pass for 20 yards. Making this game even sweeter was the fact his former Boise State teammate, Ashton Jeanty, was on the other sideline for Las Vegas. Given Seattle's health issues at the running back position, Holani finds himself in a unique opportunity.
Tory Horton is looking like a steal in the draft
Colorado State's Tory Horton suffered a knee injury during the 2024 campaign and it clearly hurt his draft stock. Horton fell to the Seahawks in the 5th round of the 2025 NFL draft, and already there are signs Seattle may have committed highway robbery with this pick. Horton was the leading receiver for the Seahawks on Thursday night, hauling in three receptions on seven targets (team high) for 31 yards and a touchdown. Horton slipped past three different Raiders to find the end zone for the first time in an NFL game, and he even made several more miss on his first attempt at returning a punt.
Drew Lock did enough to stay QB2
Drew Lock played the entirety of the first half. He completed 12-of-22 passes for 147 yards with the one touchdown to Tory Horton, as well as an interception thrown on the first possession of the game in the red zone. It wasn't anything spectacular, but it was a decent performance overall given the context of it being the first preseason action of the year. With Sam Darnold already being the starter, and since Jalen Milroe will likely be in a unique gadget role, as long as Lock doesn't have a cataclysmic performance in the preseason the backup position should be his.
Jalen Milroe is going to be a lot of fun to watch
Jalen Milroe took over at halftime from Drew Lock. On the night he completed 6-of-10 passes for 61 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions. He also rushed the ball three times for 38 yards and showed off his explosive running ability. Milroe did throw an incomplete pass on 4th-and-1 where he could have ran it, and took an unfortunate sack on 3rd down late in the game sealing Seattle's fate to not winning the game, so there is obvious room for improvement. But man, it's hard to not get excited about what he can bring to the table.