Seahawks vs. Raiders: Score and Twitter Reaction from 2016 Preseason

In a wild battle of mostly backups, the Seattle Seahawks pulled out a 23-21 win over the Oakland Raiders in Week 4 of the preseason Thursday.

Of the 44 total points scored, 36 came in the fourth quarter.

It was a defensive battle early, with no touchdowns until the fourth quarter and 15 combined punts. The only scoring in the first half came when Oakland's defense forced a safety, giving the home team a 2-0 lead at halftime.

Cale Ramaker of KIRO 7 Seattle joked about the offensive struggles:

A few field goals padded the scoring up to 8-3 in favor of the Raiders, which at the time seemed almost insurmountable. That was until the biggest play of the game came from the Seahawks defense, as the NFL showed:

Ryan Robinson returned the interception for a touchdown to take the lead, although Scott Bair of CSNCalifornia.com put the blame squarely on rookie quarterback Connor Cook:

This seemed to open up the scoring, as running back Troymaine Pope helped Seattle extend the lead to 16-8 with a five-yard touchdown run on the next possession.

The Raiders finally got into the end zone with a George Atkinson III one-yard run, but they couldn't convert the two-point attempt, which would have tied the game. Atkinson later added a kickoff return for a touchdown to go with 56 rushing yards on an impressive night.

Still, it wasn't enough, as Seattle had already extended the lead to 23-14 thanks to Alex Collins' one-yard touchdown. After Atkinson's special teams score with 1:01 remaining, Oakland attempted an onside kick but couldn't recover it.

Ben Margot/Associated Press

While the fourth week of the preseason is usually reserved for end-of-the-roster players trying to survive the last round of cuts, the Seahawks played their starters early with minimal success. Russell Wilson was 1-of-3 for 23 yards, while Christine Michael had two carries for zero yards with the first team.

Thomas Rawls came in on the second series and picked up seven yards on two carries.

Oakland kept most of its notable players on the sideline, preventing any major injuries before Week 1 of the regular season. Backup quarterback Matt McGloin finished 4-of-6 for 37 yards before coming out, potentially locking up the No. 2 spot behind Derek Carr.

Running back DeAndre Washington, who many fantasy players are hoping will get touches during the regular season, struggled to the tune of 14 yards on 11 carries.

The game did feature important moments for each team. Both squads got an extended look at their rookie quarterbacks for the first time, Cook for the Raiders and Trevone Boykin for the Seahawks.

Cook, a fourth-round pick, explained his mindset heading into the week, per Michael Wagaman of the Associated Press.

"You just let everything out," he said. "All the stuff that I have learned thus far, go use it. This is the time to cut loose and have fun with the guys. We know there's going to be cuts after this game and once the season starts the reps are going to be very minuscule, so we're just going to go out there and have fun."

The former Michigan State star responded with an up-and-down game, making nice throws on the run but also adding some awful plays, such as the pick-six. He finished 15-of-30 for 145 passing yards and no touchdowns.

Boykin also had his moments in the game, including this Wilson-esque escape in the first half, via the NFL:

He also struggled with his accuracy, finishing 7-of-15 for 72 yards, and had an intentional grounding that resulted in a safety.

Among the other notable performers was Raiders rookie Shilique Calhoun. The third-round pick not only earned a sack, but he also had a well-rounded performance, per Vic Tafur of the San Francisco Chronicle:

Denico Autry also turned heads with six tackles, five of them for loss, and a sack.

For Seattle, Robinson made the big play on the defensive side, but Keenan Lambert also deserved credit for being all over the field with 12 tackles.

Seahawks cornerback Jeremy Lane made headlines for other reasons, following Colin Kaepernick's lead and sitting for the national anthem before the game, per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network:

With the last preseason game behind them, both teams will now focus on the regular season with high expectations. Oakland has a potentially difficult road matchup against the New Orleans Saints in Week 1, while Seattle will host the Miami Dolphins.

Follow Rob Goldberg on Twitter.