THE SEATTLE SEAHAWKS were feeling the love Sunday at a jam-packed Wembley Stadium, where they rolled to a 27-3 NFL victory over the Oakland Raiders.
Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson threw for three touchdowns in the victory, coach Pete Carroll’s franchise record 91st at the helm.
Carroll passed the 90 wins amassed by former coach Mike Holmgren. He said the milestone didn’t matter, but he was delighted with his team’s entire trans-Atlantic trek.
“That was like going to a college bowl game,” Carroll said of playing in front of a crowd of 84,922 mostly pro-Seahawks fans at Wembley.
“Our players’ attitude about it was incredible. They practiced hard, they worked hard, they rested well. They did a little bit of sight-seeing but didn’t do too much.
“As we got closer to the game we realized how much energy there was for the Seahawks here. That was a great crowd. Playing at Wembley was great.
“The whole experience, culminating with the fact that we played a really complete football game — just makes it a really special week.”
Wilson completed 17 of 23 attempts for 222 yards with an interception. He hit Jaron Brown for a five-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter and connected on a 19-yard touchdown pass to David Moore in the second. He hit Tyler Lockett with a 10-yard TD pass in the fourth quarter.
“Touchdown at Wembley Stadium,” a beaming Brown said as he left the field. “It’s historic. Baby, it don’t get any better than this.”
Raiders quarterback Derek Carr left the game after he was sacked for the sixth time with 8:52 left in the fourth quarter.
Carr came up from the play nursing his left arm but said after the contest he was all right.
“It was a tough day,” Carr admitted after a game in which Matt McCrane’s 43-yard field goal with 8:30 remaining accounted for the Raiders’ only points. “We got our tails kicked.”
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Not a great match but huge Seahawks crowd in attendance. Pity the usual Wembley nonsense ruins the day out. The most difficult stadium in Europe to get away from
@David Flynn: What’s the Wembley nonsense?
@Sham Pig: tis miles out
@Sham Pig: They want to create a London franchise in the NFL. They are using these games to a) sus out and nail the logistics that would be involved and b) to grow the game in the UK.
@Sham Pig: we hung back after the match. Then walked all the way around. I’d say 50 min after the game ended we got towards the trains. Pissin rain. Got onto Wembley way and the q was still at the ramps. It’s impossible to get away from that ground. Enjoyed the game quite a bit but it was a tad soured trying to get out of Wembley.