Drew Lock Starts Again for Seahawks at Raiders

Drew Lock went into the medical tent in the third quarter Sunday, came back out, and finished off a 17-3 win over Arizona without a turnover. That was enough to earn him another week. Sam Darnold will miss Seattle’s game at Las Vegas with quad and rib injuries, and Lock is expected to start again, coach Mike Macdonald said Monday on his weekly Seattle Sports 710 radio spot.

The timing matters. The Seahawks are 5-4, tied with the Rams for second in the NFC West and two and a half games behind the 7-1 49ers, and their bye comes right after the trip to Las Vegas. Win in Vegas and Darnold gets two more weeks to heal with Seattle still in the race. Lose, and the champs go into the break at .500.

Lock Is Playing Hurt Too

Lock is not exactly healthy himself. He came into the Arizona game with tendinitis in his right elbow that limited him to one day of throwing during the week, and then he hurt his oblique on a long third-quarter drive. Macdonald sounded comfortable anyway. “Good exam for Drew,” he said. “He’s dealing with an oblique, and I think it’s something we can manage with him playing the game. Sam will be another week, so it’ll be a similar plan to last week.”

The numbers say Lock has done his job. He went 19 of 28 for 175 yards and a touchdown against the Cardinals, and in three appearances this season he has completed 71.1 percent of his passes with five touchdowns and no interceptions. Rookie Jalen Milroe backs him up again.

A Long Injury List

Darnold cracked a rib and hurt his quad in the loss to Chicago on Monday night last week. He was one of six starters who sat Sunday, along with left tackle Charles Cross, receiver Rashid Shaheed, defensive tackle Leonard Williams, edge rusher Uchenna Nwosu and left guard Quenton Nelson. Nelson will not play in Las Vegas either after a minor knee procedure this week. Macdonald said he was optimistic on a bunch of the others but did not have specifics.

That puts a patched-up line in front of a quarterback nursing an oblique. The good news is the opponent. The Raiders are 4-5 and just gave up 38 points and five second-half takeaways in a loss at San Francisco.

Smith-Njigba Is the Offense

Seattle’s plan with Lock was not complicated. Jaxon Smith-Njigba caught seven passes in the first half against Arizona and became the first receiver in the league to reach 1,000 yards this season. Lock looked for him first, and with Shaheed’s status unclear, there is no reason for that to change.

Smacktok pick lean: Lean higher on Jaxon Smith-Njigba receptions at Las Vegas. Lock fed him seven catches in one half on Sunday, and Seattle is thin everywhere else in the passing game. If Lock’s oblique flares up during the week and Milroe starts instead, skip the lean, since Seattle would be down to its third quarterback.