NFL Old School Game of the Week: Seahawks Clinch First Division Title Ever With Wild Win over Raiders

Seahawks quarterback Dave Krieg threw for 410 yards and four touchdown passes in Seattle's AFC West clinching win over the Raiders.

 Entering the final week of the 1988 NFL season, the Seattle Seahawks had a chance to do something they had never done in team history and that was clinch a division title as they traveled down to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum to take on the Raiders.

The Seahawks come into the final game of the regular season with a 8-7 record under head coach Chuck Knox, who was in his sixth season in the Emerald City having lead the Seahawks to three playoff appearances since his arrival in 1983.

The Seahawks had to rely on the old "Ground Chuck" running attack that Knox was known for as running back Curt Warner would run for over 1,000 yards while fullback John L. Williams would for over 800 more as starting quarterback Dave Krieg missed nearly half the season with a separated shoulder.

But with Krieg back at the helm and future hall-of-fame wide receiver Steve Largent, the Seahawks were on the cusp of winning their first division title since their inception in 1976.

Standing in their way were the Los Angeles Raiders, who also came into the game needing a win to clinch the AFC West despite their 7-8 record as LA seeked to return to the playoffs for the first time since 1985.

The Raiders were led by two newcomers in head coach Mike Shanahan and quarterback Jay Schroeder, who owner Al Davis had acquired in an offseason trade from the Washington Redskins.

Despite the arrival of Schroeder and a backfield which featured Marcus Allen and Bo Jackson plus the first-round selection of 1987 Heisman Trophy winner Tim Brown at wide receiver, the Raiders had an up-and-down season as their defense often falter, including in week 13 when LA lost to the Seahawks 35-27 as Krieg threw for five touchdown passes in the Seattle win.

Another performance like that by Krieg and the Seahawks would enter the playoffs as AFC West champions.

The Raiders got the ball to start the game as they drove from their 17-yard-line to the Seattle 42-yard-line until they were forced to punt the ball to the Seahawks, who took over at their eight-yard-line.

Following a three-yard run by Williams, Krieg was sacked by Raiders linebacker Jerry Robinson, causing a fumble that was recovered by nose tackle Bill Pickel to give LA the ball at the Seahawks' five-yard-line.

Two runs by Jackson picked up three yards to set up 3rd & goal when Brown carried the ball  until he fumbled the football after he was hit by Seahawks cornerback Mel Jenkins one yard shy of the end zone.

Fortunately for the Raiders, Brown would recover his own fumble in the end zone for the first touchdown in the game to give LA a 7-0 lead with exactly nine minutes left in the first quarter.

The Seahawks would respond with a five-play, 82-yard drive with the bulk of the yardage coming courtesy of two pass plays as Williams turned a short screen pass into a 36-yard reception which was followed a few plays later by Krieg's 35-yard touchdown pass to Largent that would tie the game at 7.

The Raiders would start its next possession at their 35-yard-line but would quickly go backwards as Allen was dropped for a four-yard loss after catching a screen pass then lost two more yards on a running play to set up 3rd & 16 when Schroeder was intercepted by Seahawks cornerback Terry Taylor to give Seattle the ball at the LA 23-yard-line.

Three plays later, the Seahawks were back in the end zone as Krieg connected with Brian Blades for a 17-yard touchdown to give Seattle a 14-7 lead with 3:06 left in the first quarter.

The Raiders would hold the ball for the rest of the first quarter as they drove from their 35-yard-line to the LA 49-yard-line when on the first play of the second quarter, Schroeder threw a bomb toward the end zone that was caught by Willie Gault for a 51-yard touchdown that would tie the game at 14.

Raiders quarterback Jay Schroeder would complete 22 of 49 passes for 354 yards and throw three touchdown passes.

Seattle would be given great field position to start its next drive as Bobby Joe Edmonds would return  the ensuing kickoff 65 yards to the Raiders' 25-yard-line from where the Seahawks would pick up one 1st down before settling for a 39-yard field goal by Norm Johnson to put the Seahawks back on top 17-14 with 12:14 left in the second quarter.

A track meet was developing as Schroeder would hit Gault for a 57-yard pass on the first play of the Raiders' ensuing possession to put LA at the Seattle 18-yard-line.

Three straight running plays picked up nine yards to set up 4th & 1 when the Raiders decided to go for it as fullback Steve Smith would run for four yards to give LA a fresh set of downs at the Seahawks' five-yard-line.

However, the Raiders would lose three yards on the next plays, forcing them to settle for a 26-yard field goal by Chris Bahr which tied the game again, this time at 17 midway through the second quarter.

Back came the Seahawks with a 13-play, 69-yard drive which began with Williams gaining 25 yards as he ran for 14 yards on a draw play to start the drive then caught a 11-yard pass to put Seattle at the 50-yard-line.

From there, the Seahawks would drive to the LA six-yard-line until they lost two yards on the next three plays, forcing them to settle for a 24-yard field goal by Johnson to give Seattle a 20-17 lead with 1:52 left before halftime.

After the Raiders would go three-and-out on their ensuing possession, the Seahawks would get the ball back at their 20-yard-line with 62 seconds left in the first half and all three timeouts in their pockets.

The drive would began with three straight completions by Krieg for 20 yards which was followed by an incomplete pass to set up 3rd & 5 when Krieg found Ray Butler for 17 yards and a Seattle 1st down at the Raiders' 43-yard-line as Seattle called timeout with 25 seconds left in the half.

A 20-yard pass to Williams put the Seahawks at the LA 23-yard-line as Krieg tried to hit Paul Skansi not once but twice in the end zone only for his passes to fall incomplete, leaving the Seahawks to settle for 40-yard field goal by Johnson to bring the first half to an end with Seattle ahead 23-17.

Following an exchange of punts to start the second half, the Seahawks got the ball at their 34-yard-line as Krieg found Largent for 15 yards to start the drive, which was followed by two incomplete passes to set up 3rd down when Krieg connected with Blades for 21 yards and a Seattle 1st down at the Raiders' 30-yard-line.

On the very next play, Krieg hit Blades for a 30-yard touchdown to push the Seahawks' lead to 30-17 with 9:17 left in the third quarter.

The Seahawks seemed poised to get the ball back after forcing the Raiders to punt after a three-and-out, only to have Edmonds muff the punt which was recovered by Vance Mueller to give LA the ball at the Seattle 16-yard-line.

However, the Raiders would not pick a 1st down and were forced to settle for a 28-yard field goal by Bahr which cut the Seahawks' lead to 30-20 midway through the third quarter.

It would take just one play for the Seahawks to get back into the end zone as Williams turned a short screen pass into a 75-yard touchdown to give Seattle its largest lead of the game at 37-20.

John L. Williams would carry the ball 14 times for 59 yards and catch seven passes for 180 yards.

After Brown returned the ensuing kickoff 30 yards to the LA 41-yard-line, the Raiders would hold the ball for over six minutes as they drove 59 yards in 12 plays, culminating with a four-yard touchdown pass from Schroeder to Smith on a 4th & 3 to cut the Seahawks' lead to 37-27.

Seattle would start its next drive at its 26-yard-line with a trick play as Krieg handed the ball off to Williams, who then tossed it back to the quarterback on a flea flicker, who then connected with Blades for 55 yards to put the Seahawks at the Raiders' 17-yard-line.

Needing a stop, the Raiders would hold the Seahawks to a 35-yard field goal by Johnson to increase Seattle's lead to 40-27 just 14 seconds into the fourth quarter.

The Raiders would answer with a five-play, 77-yard drive that was capped off with another long touchdown pass as Schroeder hit Mervyn Fernandez for a 54-yard touchdown to cut Seattle's lead to 40-34 with a little less than 13 minutes to go in the fourth quarter.

The Seahawks would turn it over on their next drive as Krieg threw a deep pass that was intercepted by LA free safety Eddie Anderson but would get the ball back at the Raiders' 41-yard-line after the Seattle defense forced a three-and-out by the LA offense.

Seattle would drive to the LA nine-yard-line where they faced a 3rd & 1 when Krieg handed the ball off to Williams who was dropped for a five-yard-loss, leading to another field goal by Johnson from 32 yards out to make it a two-score game as the Seahawks took a 43-34 lead with over five minutes left in the game.

The Raiders would start their next possession at their 34-yard-line as Schroeder would throw an incomplete pass on 1st down, then hit tight end Todd Christiansen three straight times for a total of 30 yards to put LA at the Seattle 36-yard-line.

After two more incomplete passes, Schroeder went back to Christiansen, this time connecting with the tight end for 18 yards and a 1st down at the Seattle 18-yard-line as Schroeder would throw another incomplete pass before finding Smith for 12 yards to set up 1st & goal at the Seattle six-yard-line.

However, three straight incomplete passes would lead the Raiders to settle for a 24-yard field goal by Bahr to make it 43-37 with 2:21 remaining.

With all three timeouts in their pocket plus the two-minute warning, the Raiders decided not to attempt an onside kick and instead kicked it to the Seahawks, who took over at their 28-yard-line hoping to milk the clock.

A five-yard run by Williams followed by an eight-yard run by Duane Harmon gave the Seahawks a 1st down at their 41-yard-line as the two-minute warning hit as two more running plays picked up eight yards to set up a crucial 3rd & 2 as the Raiders spent their last timeout with 1:45 left.

That is when the Seahawks tried to surprise the Raiders with a pass only to have Krieg get sacked by defensive end Greg Townsend for an nine-yard loss to bring up 4th down as the Seahawks would punt back to the Raiders who took over at their 33-yard-line with 68 seconds to play.

Norm Johnson would kick five field goals in the Seahawks' 43-37 victory.

Following two incomplete passes to start the drive, Schroeder connected with Fernandez for 22 yards and a 1st down at the Seattle 45-yard-line as Schroeder would spike the ball to stop the clock with 33 seconds left.

But the Raiders would go no further as Schroeder would three straight incomplete passes to cause a turnover on downs and give the ball back to the Seahawks who took a knee to run out the clock on their 43-37 victory to clinch the AFC West division championship for Seattle.

With the dreadful finish to the 1988 season, tensions between Shanahan and Davis would escalate as the Raiders got off to a 1-3 start the following season which lead to Davis firing Shanahan and promoting offensive line coach Art Shell to head coach, making Shell the first black head coach in NFL history.

Shell would lead the Raiders back to the playoffs in 1990 and two more times after that as the Hall-of-Fame guard would comply a 54-38 record during his nearly six seasons as Raiders head coach.

As for the Seahawks, they were unable to build off their division title as they would fall to the Cincinnati Bengals 21-13 in the AFC Divisional Playoffs.

The Seahawks would win only one more AFC West division title, coming in 1999, before they were realigned to the NFC West, a division which they have won eight times as of 2022.