Seahawks running back David Hughes returned the opening kickoff 34 yards to the 40-yard line, and his team drove to the Raiders 34 from there. But defensive back Lester Hayes picked off a pass from Dave Krieg and returned it 44 yards to the Seattle 26. On the Raiders ensuing drive, a 19-yard run by Allen set up a 20-yard field goal by Chris Bahr. In the second quarter, Allen broke off a 16-yard run, while Raiders quarterback Jim Plunkett completed passes to Cliff Branch and Malcolm Barnwell for gains of 11 and 20 yards on a 61-yard drive that ended with Frank Hawkins' 1-yard touchdown run. Then Seattle went three and out and LA got the ball back with good position on their 40-yard line. Plunkett's 49-yard completion to Barnwell then set up Hawkins' second rushing touchdown, making the score 17–0. With 1:02 left in the half, Seattle desperately tried to put some points on the board before halftime, but defensive back Mike Davis intercepted a pass from Krieg at his own 40-yard line. A 20-yard completion from Plunkett to Barnwell then set up Bahr's 45-yard field goal to give the Raiders a 20–0 halftime lead.