Believe it or not, some rivalries die.
When the Las Vegas Raiders take the field against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 10, it will feel like a regular old Sunday matchup between two teams from completely different conferences. Unlike last week against the San Francisco 49ers, the Raiders have no geographic territory to compete for.
But for a quarter of a century between 1977 and 2001, the Seahawks were an AFC West foe of the Silver and Black. They played them twice a year when the Raiders were in Oakland, then Los Angeles, then Oakland again. As the years have passed, though, this rivalry has lost a bit of its flair.
Taking a trip through time and space will surely help reignite the flame, though, so let's do just that.
Raiders lead Seahawks 30-26 in all-time series between old AFC West foes
These two teams have been facing off for nearly 50 years. For the first half of that time, they were biannual foes. But for the second half, the Raiders and Seahawks have only played every four or so years. NFL expansion really killed the rivalry between Oakland and Seattle.
In that first matchup in 1977, the Silver and Black took it to the Seahawks, coming out on top, 44-7. After that, it was all Seattle for a few years, as they emerged victorious in four straight games. You're going to start noticing a pattern here.
Oakland won five straight matchups after that, and then the Seahawks got back in the win column to notch two in a row. The Raiders responded with two wins in a row, then Seattle grabbed three straight. Then Los Angeles won two. Then the Seahawks won two.
Finally, a one-off win for the Raiders occurred in 1987 before four straight wins by Seattle, which were followed by eight straight wins by Oakland/Los Angeles, which extended to 10 wins in 11 games. Since the return to Oakland, though, these two teams have split their matchups, an even 10-10.
Although this will not be Seattle's first game against the Raiders of Las Vegas, it will be their first game against the Raiders in Las Vegas. The Silver and Black came out on top of the only matchup so far repping Sin City... but more on that in a minute.
Signature moment: Oakland takes down Seattle in 1983 AFC Championship Game
We could talk about the 1984 AFC Wild Card game, the 1988 Division Round, Bo Jackson running into the tunnel on Monday Night Football, Shaun Alexander's franchise record-breaking contest or a number of others, but one game obviously stands out between the two sides.
To win their third (and most recent) Super Bowl, the Raiders had to get through the Seahawks in the AFC Championship Game. The same Seahawks who beat them twice that season in a span of three weeks. But Los Angeles was able to power through and win in dominating fashion.
The next week, they went on to dominate the Washington Redskins 38-9 to hoist their third Lombardi Trophy in eight seasons. But let's rewind a second.
Los Angeles blew through the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Division Round to take on a Seahawks team that had just scraped by the Miami Dolphins. The Raiders needed to get back into the Super Bowl after falling short in the Division Round the year prior in a strike-shortened season.
And this game was all Raiders.
Tom Flores' team jumped out to a 20-0 lead at halftime, thanks to a pair of Chris Bahr kicks and two first-half rushing touchdowns, courtesy of Frank Hawkins. Things didn't get any better for Seattle to start the second half, as Marcus Allen caught a touchdown from Jim Plunkett to make it 27-0.
In the final minutes of the third quarter, the Seahawks finally got on the board with a Jim Zorn passing touchdown to Dan Doornink, and with a minute left, he found Charle Young to make the final score 30-14 instead of 30-7. This is a rare game where it was more of a blowout than the score showed.
All told, Allen ran for 154 yards, and he tacked on 62 more and a score through the air. Plunkett threw for 214 yards and a touchdown, adding 26 yards on the ground. Malcolm Barnwell led the Raiders in receiving, as he caught 5 passes for 116 yards, while Cliff Branch had only 2 catches for 22 yards.
Defense was also a big part of the equation in this big playoff win, as the Silver and Black picked off five (!!) passes. Mike Davis recorded two, while Lester Hayes, Matt Millen and Vann McElroy each nabbed one as well.
Rod Martin also contributed a sack and a forced fumble that Charley Hannah recovered, and Greg Townsend, the franchise's all-time record-holder for sacks, recorded 2.0 sacks in this game. It was a well-rounded performance that was flat-out dominant.
Last time around: Josh Jacobs runs all over Seahawks in high-scoring OT thriller
It was an emotional time for the Raiders, as they had just broken a three-game losing streak and escaped Mile High Stadium with a tough overtime road win over the Denver Broncos, and they had to go on the road again for the fourth time in five weeks to face the Seattle Seahawks.
But in a battle of now-former Raiders head coaches (Josh McDaniels and Pete Carroll), Las Vegas was able to dig deep and win its second straight game in extra time.
This contest was back-and-forth throughout the afternoon, as no team ever led by more than 8. Kenneth Walker III got things going for the Seahawks with a rushing touchdown, but Derek Carr and the offense responded with a score through the air, courtesy of Ameer Abdullah.
Two Jason Myers field goals gave Seattle a 13-7 lead, but then Carr found Mack Hollins for a long touchdown to put Las Vegas back on top. Josh Jacobs then launched for a 30-yard rushing touchdown, which gave the Raiders an 8-point lead, the biggest of the game.
Tyler Lockett caught a 35-yard touchdown pass from Geno Smith to make it 21-20 before Daniel Carlson knocked one through the uprights to extend the Silver and Black's lead back to four. Walker III struck again, though, and so did Carlson, so this game was knotted up at 27 heading into the 4th.
Smith then found Travis Homer for a touchdown with just five minutes left in the contest to take a 34-27 lead, but Carr responded with a great drive and ultimately found Foster Moreau in the end zone to tie this one up and send it into overtime after nothing shook in the final minute of regulation.
Las Vegas drove well against Carroll's defense to kick off overtime, chewing up nearly half the period, but Carlson missed a 56-yard field goal, opening the door for the Seahawks. But the Raiders' defense stepped up big, forcing a three-and-out, which gave the offense the ball back.
On the first play of that possession, Jacobs took it 86 yards to the house and called game. Raiders win 40-34.
Jacobs was the star of the show, running 33 times for a staggering 229 yards and two touchdowns, and he also caught six passes for 74 yards. Carr also threw for 295 yards and three touchdowns, while also tossing two interceptions.
Davante Adams caught a team-high seven passes for 74 yards, and Hollins chipped in 63 yards and the aforementioned score. On the other side of the ball, Maxx Crosby notched 1.5 sacks for the Raiders' defense, and Andrew Billings had a sack as well. Denzel Perryman recorded an interception.
Let's hope that Ashton Jeanty can have a showing similar to Jacobs' on Sunday, as Las Vegas will need every yard against a very good Seahawks team. But more importantly, let's hope that the Raiders come out on top after what has been an emotional few weeks.
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