Associated Press
SEATTLE — E.J. Manuel made a strong bid to be Oakland’s backup quarterback, throwing for 255 yards and three touchdowns, and the Raiders closed out the preseason with a 30-19 win over the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday night.
Manuel completed 18 of 22 passes in the competition with Connor Cook to be Derek Carr’s backup. He hit Keon Hatcher on both of his touchdowns in the first half and added a 45-yard TD to Saeed Blacknall in the third quarter. Hatcher caught a 45-yard TD in the first quarter when he spun off Seattle’s Justin Coleman as he was being tackled to the ground, never touched the turf and completed the catch-and-run score that was upheld on review.
Manuel found Hatcher again on a 19-yard TD strike late in the second quarter. Raiders coach Jon Gruden was unhappy with the performance of both Manuel and Cook after last week’s game.
Cook came on late in the third quarter and threw a 22-yard TD to Hatcher in the fourth quarter. Hatcher had eight catches for 128 yards.
Oakland finished the preseason 3-1, while Seattle went 0-4, its first winless preseason in franchise history. The teams will meet in Week 6 in London.
Seattle’s Austin Davis made a strong audition for other teams. The Seahawks acquired Brett Hundley in a trade with Green Bay on Wednesday likely marking the end of Davis’ time in Seattle. But he was still tasked with playing the entire first half against Oakland.
Davis was solid even if one of his completions was a deflected pass that was caught by right tackle Willie Beavers. Davis finished 13 of 20 for 194 yards and an 81-yard touchdown strike to Damore’ea Stringfellow. Davis also led a two-minute drive at the end of the first half that culminated in Mike Davis’ 1-yard TD run.
Seattle rookie linebacker Shaquem Griffin had a team-high seven tackles in the first half and found his way into the action all over the field. Griffin, whose left-hand was amputated as a child, could be in line to start the opener after starter K.J. Wright had arthroscopic knee surgery earlier this week. Seattle also used veteran safety Maurice Alexander at linebacker in the second half.
Both teams used only a few starters and for very short stints. For Seattle, offensive linemen Ethan Pocic and Germain Ifedi were in on the first drive and starting running back Chris Carson got two carries for 5 yards. Barkevious Mingo also got time on defense.
The only Raiders starter of note was defensive end Tank Carradine filling the role normally held by holdout Khalil Mack. Carradine had the Raiders only sack in the first half.
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