Torretta Rallies Seattle to Win Over Mistake-Prone Oakland

After waiting four seasons for his chance to throw a pass, Gino Torretta didn’t exactly have the game of his dreams.

But the fourth-string Seattle quarterback avoided mistakes, and against the self-destructing Oakland Raiders, that’s usually enough to win, as it was Sunday in the Seahawks’ 28-21 victory.

Torretta was only five for 16 for 41 yards, but the Seahawks took advantage of six Oakland fumbles to rally from a 14-3 deficit at the Oakland Coliseum.

The attendance of 33,455 was the smallest home crowd for any Raider game since 1967--not including one game during the 1987 strike when the Raiders were based in Los Angeles.

Both teams are headed home. The Seahawks (7-9) have not made the playoffs since 1988 and Oakland (7-9) has not played in the postseason the past three years.

“The whole season was a total disappointment,” Raider defensive end Pat Swilling said.

The Raiders were penalized seven times for 85 yards Sunday, giving them 156 penalties this season--tying the NFL record they set two years ago. They had 1,266 yards in penalties, eight yards short of the league record the Raiders set in 1969.

With John Friesz and Rick Mirer sidelined because of injuries, Stan Gelbaugh started at quarterback for the Seahawks. But he lasted only two series before going out because of a groin injury, and Torretta got his chance.