Seahawks should not overlook Titans on Sunday

Oct 6, 2013; Nashville, TN, USA; Tennessee Titans running back Jackie Battle (22) rushes against the Kansas City Chiefs during the second half at LP Field. Kansas City won 26-17. Mandatory Credit: Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports

Buried in a tough division, the Tennessee Titans get very little attention as a competitive team in the NFL.

For the last two weeks, all of us following the Seahawks have heard how good Houston is and how good Indianapolis is and that both were going to be challenging games for Seattle.

And yes, both teams were challenges, one of which the Seahawks conquered, and the other of which the Seahawks are now sanitizing the wounds of defeat.

While their record of 3-2 indicates that they are, well, mediocre, those numbers don’t tell the whole story.

First, let’s look at the fact that the Titans squeaked by the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 1. The Steelers have not yet won a game this year, but the Titans beat them by nothing more than a touchdown, 16-9. An upset, sure, especially because the game was in Pittsburgh. But those weren’t the same Titans that played in Week 2.

In Week 2, the Titans put up a dogfight against the Texans in Houston, losing 30-24 in overtime to a team that almost beat the Seahawks earlier this season. Those Titans were tough and tenacious and refused to give up, especially to a division opponent.

In Weeks 3 & 4, they beat the Chargers and Jets, respectively, to set up a surprisingly intriguing Week 5 game against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Coming into the game, the Chiefs were 4-0, the Titans were 3-1. Kudos if you predicted those records when the season started.

The Titans lost the game but put up a battle worth noting. They fell behind 13-0 at the half but scored 10 in the third to set up a 13-10 game heading into the fourth quarter.

They would go on to lose the game 26-17, but they matched up well against the still-undefeated Chiefs. The Titans had only 14 fewer total yards, one less play, one less first down and probably could have won the game had it not been for a special teams miscue in the first quarter.

Now they will have to head to Seattle to take on a very hungry Seahawks team. I don’t think they will snap the Seahawks 10-game home winning streak, but they should certainly not be overlooked.

If the Seahawks think this will be an easy game, it won’t be.

Luckily, Coach Carroll knows not to take any games for granted. A win on Sunday would mean a 5-1 record before taking on division rivals in consecutive weeks.

This is one of the most difficult stretches of the schedule for the Hawks. At the start of the year, the Titans may have been considered a day off. But the way they have been playing, Seattle needs to bring their A-game, or Russell Wilson will suffer his first career loss at CenturyLink Field.