Klint Kubiak now has a 4-5 team and a growing number of people telling him to start Fernando Mendoza. CBS Sports' Pete Prisco wants it done now. Mendoza did not play in the Jets win and was active behind Cousins against San Francisco. Whether the switch comes this week is the biggest unknown on the Raiders' side, and it matters more than anything on the betting board.
Look at what the Seahawks defense has done lately. Seattle held Kansas City to 3 points and then held Arizona to 3, with backup-level quarterback play on its own side for most of that stretch. The 34-17 loss to Chicago sits between those 2 games, so it has not been airtight. Still, when this defense is on, it can carry an offense that is just trying to get through the game, and that is what Seattle's offense may be doing in Vegas.
Las Vegas has the opposite profile. The Raiders have given up 33 or more in each of their last 5 games, and that includes the 38-33 shootout win over the Jets. They can score when Cousins protects the ball; they put up 30 on Buffalo and 38 on New York. They just haven't kept anyone out of the end zone in over a month, and that matters a lot if Seattle's quarterback is a rookie who needs a short field and some easy throws.
The injury list is long on both sides. Seattle was missing left tackle Charles Cross and guard Quenton Nelson last week, which is a lot to ask of the line in front of whoever plays quarterback. Edge Uchenna Nwosu, DTs Leonard Williams and Brandon Pili, and receiver Rashid Shaheed were also inactive. On the Raiders side, center Trey Zuhn left the 49ers game with a concussion, and that is worth watching through the week.
Kickoff is 1:05 PM PT. This is a 5-4 team with a strong defense and an open quarterback question against a 4-5 team with a healthy quarterback and a defense that keeps getting run over. Pay attention to the Seattle practice reports this week. Whether it's Darnold, Lock or Milroe will tell you more about this game than anything else will.
