THE DOME OF DOOM : Raiders Have Failed to Win a Battle in Seattle Since ‘81, and Now Must Try Again

Napoleon had his Waterloo and Custer had the Little Bighorn, but at least they didn’t have to visit annually. The Raiders have their own nightmare on Earth, and this is the weekend the schedule says they’re obligated to make an appearance.

In three syllables that speak volumes in silver and blackdom, Se-at-tle.

The Raiders haven’t won in the Kingdome since 1981, when they were still the Oakland Raiders. There isn’t a Raider quarterback, active or otherwise, who has a winning record in Seattle. Jim Plunkett, 6-2 against the Seahawks overall, is 1-2 in Seattle. Marc Wilson is 1-2. Ken Stabler was 0-2.

The Raiders have lost the last four in a row, despite having outgained the Seahawks in three of them--by 382 yards to 153 in ‘83, 310-207 in the ’84 regular-season game and 282-234 in ’85. How did they manage that? Maybe their turning the ball over 22 times to the Seahawks’ 4 had something to do with it.

What haven’t they tried? Last year, trying to simulate the noise of the Kingdome, Coach Tom Flores had huge loudspeakers carted out to the practice field to blast his players with a hundred decibels of the recorded sound of a rock concert crowd.

Thus forearmed, the Raiders lost, 33-3, and Lester Hayes said:

“We can’t beat these guys here. They could give us an all-star team and we couldn’t beat these guys here. It’s a Seahawk-ism. This is the only place where the 45-man unit has some doubt. There’ll be doubt if we play here till 1990.

“So be it.”

This is only 1986, so the Raiders are either going to overcome their doubts or the playoff race is going to get still tighter.

So be it.

1983 Seattle’s Jim Zorn completed 4 of 16 passes for a net 2 yards. The Seahawks were outgained, 382-153, but won, 38-36.

Plunkett threw three interceptions, was sacked eight times and lost two fumbles. He and Seahawk defensive end Jacob Green were on a first-name basis by game’s end.

The Raiders trailed, 24-22, in the second half when Green crunched Plunkett, who fumbled to Shelton Robinson, who ran it in for a touchdown to make it 31-22. On the next Raider play from scrimmage, Plunkett was crunched and fumbled to Green, who returned it to the Raider eight-yard line. The resulting touchdown made it 38-22.

Marc Wilson came in, threw two touchdown passes and was named the new No. 1 quarterback.

“It was terrible,” Plunkett recalls. “I have these two great friends. After the Super Bowl (Plunkett regained his job three weeks later when Wilson was hurt and wound up leading the team to the Super Bowl victory), they put together this little videotape thing: what it takes to be a Super Bowl quarterback. Then they showed all clips of the Seattle game.”

In the stands that day was Curt Marsh, the Raider lineman and a Washington native who lives in Seattle during the off-season.

“It was after my back surgery,” Marsh said. “We’re getting beat pretty bad, and there were these two guys below me who were getting all over Howie (Long). ‘You’re not so bad’ and all that. They were starting to get to Howie, you could see that. He told them to come on down. They were laughing.

“I got fed up, the combination of that and the fact we were getting our butts handed to us. I went down and grabbed one by the back of the neck. I told him if he was serious, I’d be glad to throw him on down.

“The guy was pretty much a cordial fan after that. My mother put a bag over her head after that. Needless to say, I’m going to be on the sidelines (Marsh is on injured reserve) this year. That’s my mother’s rule.”

1984 In Seattle, it was a very good year. The Seahawks got the Raiders in the Kingdome twice. The second time was in the playoffs, the game in which they ended the defending Super Bowl champions’ season.

The regular-season game was played on a Monday night. The Raiders had the NFL’s best Monday record, 21-2-1. They outgained the Seahawks in the first half, 158-40, and took a 7-0 lead. The Seahawks scored 17 straight points in the second half and won, 17-14. Wilson threw three interceptions.

Plunkett returned for the playoff meeting, and the Seahawks won it, too, 13-7. Despite having lost Curt Warner for the season, the Seahawks rushed for 202 yards, 122 of them by Dan Doornink, an off-season medical student. It was Doornink’s career high.

“Dan Doornink did his O.J. Simpson imitation,” Long said. “Now I think he’s an animal doctor.”

1985 The Raiders outgained the Seahawks, 282-234, but lost, 33-3. Wilson threw four interceptions. The Seahawks led, 3-0, after the first period, 10-0, when Dave Krieg isolated Warner on linebacker Brad Van Pelt and threw a touchdown pass.

It was 13-0 when Chris Bahr attempted a field goal in the second period. Seattle cornerback Terry Taylor got around Matt Millen and blocked it. Byron Franklin picked up the ball and went 49 yards for a touchdown. Then Taylor returned an interception 75 yards for a touchdown, making it 26-0 at halftime.

“We were out there five plays in the second quarter,” Long said. “And three of them were PAT blocks.”

Added Millen: “The play I remember is the blocked field goal. The guy (Taylor) ran right by me, right off the corner. I didn’t even have a chance to block him, he came by so fast. He said later that Dave Dalby (then the Raider snapper) would cock his head, and he could go off that. After our game this year, (Taylor) told me he couldn’t get a jump off our center.”

1986 We’ll see soon.

Raider Notes Jessie Hester has a hamstring pull. Coach Tom Flores had said on Monday that Hester might be listed as doubtful, but the wide receiver has improved, and Flores says now he’s probable. Tim Moffett has been moved to that side this week. Charley Hannah broke a bone in his right hand and has a cast on it but is listed as probable. . . . Seattle Coach Chuck Knox, asked if the Raiders are psyched out in the Kingdome: “How can you psych out the silver and black?”