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The Seattle Seahawks soaked up London's wind and rain and unleashed an offensive storm on the Oakland Raiders, a franchise that looks increasingly directionless and one which will surely hit the reset button on its roster.
Reports on Sunday morning had stated that the Raiders were offering former first-rounders Amari Cooper and Karl Joseph for trades, a sign that after Khalil Mack's departure they are ready to rip the whole house down before the move to Las Vegas.
And on the sodden Wembley turf this team looked like one in desperate need of a rebuild, with Derek Carr incapable of moving the chains despite utilising nine different pass-catchers and the defensive unit unable to stop Russell Wilson.
They already looked lost before this resounding defeat but now they look like a team that is about to tank. Jon Gruden has a 10-year, $100m deal to make him one of the most secure head coaches in the league but everything around him will change in the coming couple of years, up to and including the city that this team calls home. How gut-wrenching for those Oakland residents already losing a well-supported team that the last iteration of a great franchise that they see will be such a pitiful version. In London, that was the only image they left.
Seattle looked back to themselves on offense in a performance that felt as if it may help them get back on track. The NFC West very much belongs to the Los Angeles Rams and will likely do so for some time but the Seahawks must still be thinking of a wildcard pick. The Legion of Boom is clearly no more but this is still a defensive corps that hits hard and no harder than in a questionable hit that sent Amari Cooper to the concussion tent and that might have drawn a flag. Frank Clark was a wrecking ball up front and the Raiders, in the end, put up little resistance, coughing up turnovers and then being flattened by a banged-up Seattle rushing attack that still went for over 150 yards.
For the fans who flocked to London, they got to see an elite quarterback outplaying an opponent that looks as if they will get a lot worse before they get better. Next up is the Tennessee Titans against the Los Angeles Chargers and, hopefully, more of an even contest.
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