The No-Bo Offense Seeks Lift at Seattle : Raiders: L.A. is averaging only 15.1 points, and Jackson won’t be around to help out this time.

In a perfect world, with a perfect hip, Bo Jackson might have cut his vacation short and been in uniform for tonight’s game against the Seattle Seahawks at the Kingdome.

The Raider offense having slowed to a crawl, Jackson might have ridden to the rescue, as he did one Monday night in 1987 when he rushed for 221 yards, knocked linebacker Brian Bosworth on his backside and disappeared into a stadium tunnel after a 91-yard touchdown run.

Jackson used the Kingdome as a launching pad to fame and fortune.

Tonight, though, instead of ushering Jackson into the lineup, the Raiders are left to wonder what might have been.

A serious hip injury has ended Jackson’s football career, leaving teammates to fend for themselves, a dubious challenge.

“Any time you lose someone that is potentially devastating to the opponent’s defense, it obviously has an effect,” defensive end Howie Long said of Jackson. “But there have been great players here before that were lost. We just have to go on.”

The Raiders don’t mind going on with their defense, it’s their offense that is the problem.

“Obviously, he was always a big pick-me-up to the team because of his ability to break games open,” nose tackle Bob Golic said of Jackson.

The Raider offense needs a pick-me-up. The team’s 13-point performance in last week’s loss to San Diego lowered its scoring average to 15.1 points and left its record at 3-3.

Before last season, the prospects of ironing out problems at the Kingdome were not encouraging. The Seahawks are one of two NFL teams with a winning record against the Raiders, holding a 14-12 series advantage.

Philadelphia holds a 3-2 series edge.

The Raiders are 6-10 against Seattle since moving to Los Angeles.

However, the framework for last season’s 12-4 season was laid in Seattle on Sept. 16, when the Raiders rallied for two fourth-quarter touchdowns to win, 17-13. It ended a four-game losing streak in Seattle.

The Raiders went on to sweep the Seahawks for the first time since 1981.

That thought allows some comfort as the Raiders try to sort out this season. It helps knowing that they probably will face Seattle’s No. 2 quarterback, Jeff Kemp, and not Dave Krieg, who has haunted the Raiders in the past. Krieg returned to the practice squad this week after breaking his thumb in the opener, but Coach Chuck Knox said it was questionable whether Krieg would play.

The Raiders would prefer to take their chances with Kemp, an 11-year backup who has thrown nine interceptions and three touchdowns in relief of Krieg.

Like the Raiders, the Seahawks are 3-3, and Kemp has made it interesting. Protecting a 13-7 lead at the Cincinnati 25-yard line with two minutes to play last Sunday, Kemp changed a running play called on the sideline and attempted a pass into the end zone that was intercepted.

The Seahawks were then forced to hold off a late Bengal charge, stopping Cincinnati on fourth down deep in Seattle territory.

This wasn’t an Ivy League decision from Dartmouth graduate Kemp, and he no doubt heard about it from his father, Jack Kemp, the former pro quarterback and current Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.

“We talk a lot on the phone,” Jeff said. “We get into details some. If I tell him to back off, he will. I don’t give him any pointers on HUD policies.”

Raider Notes

The Seattle defense ranks 10th overall, and some are calling it one of the best Seahawk units ever. Coach Chuck Knox isn’t, saying: “I think it’s a little overboard this early in the year, certainly. You don’t judge teams, offenses or defenses, until the season is over.” . . . Former Raider safety Vann McElroy, traded to Seattle last season after a bitter parting with owner Al Davis, is on injured reserve after an operation last week to remove a bone spur on the back of his right ankle and arthroscopic surgery for spurs on the side of the ankle joint. . . . The Seahawks’ rookie quarterback and first-round draft choice, Dan McGwire, started against the Indianapolis Colts on Sept. 29 but was removed after the first half with his team leading, 17-0. McGwire completed three of seven passes for 27 yards with one interception.