Seahawks versus Titans: How Seattle lost the game
The Seahawks needed to win today in Nashville, and couldn’t pull it off. There were a few key plays and players that turned the game for the Titans.
The Tennessee Titans have been proclaimed by many to be a team on the rise. The Seahawks win today was critical for many reasons, much more than just moving to a 2 -1 record. Under Pete Carroll Seattle had been just 2 -10 in September road games. Far more important, the Seahawks needed to get the offense in gear.
They weren’t able to get anything going offensively in the first half until just before the two minute warning. To that point in the game, Wilson was 4 – 11 for 24 yards. No, I am not making that up. One 36 yard pass to Doug Baldwin gave the Hawks hope. Wilson’s very next play was an absolute bomb to former Notre Dame wide receiver C.J. Prosise:
And there’s the following touchdown by Baldwin as well. Unfortunately, the Seahawks then let Marcus Mariota complete five straight passes in a one minute drill. The Titans took a 9 -7 lead at the half on a 47 yard field goal. That drive was a harbinger of things to come.
More from 12th Man Rising
- 4 prospects Seahawks could reach for at No. 20 in 2023 NFL Draft
- Seattle Seahawks Mock Draft: Post-first wave of free agency
- Seahawks podcast: A review of the first week of free agency
- 4 experiments the Seattle Seahawks could cut short in 2023
- 3 pros and cons of Seattle Seahawks drafting Anthony Richardson
Seahawks can’t keep up in the third quarter
Seattle started off the second half brilliantly with the Chris Carson/Doug Baldwin show. The rookie running back accounted for 30 of the Seahawks 80 yard drive, including a 10 yard touchdown pass from Wilson, his second of the day. Baldwin converted on a key third down play, and the Seahawks forgotten man Jimmy Graham even had a nifty 26 yard catch and run that put Seattle into the red zone. The score was now Seahawks 14, Titans 9.
Unfortunately, the rest of the third quarter belonged to Mariota and crew. After DeMarco Murray moved the chains a couple times, Mariota hooked up with Rishard Matthews on a 55 yard strike. The Titans took a 16 – 14 lead. No one knew it at the time, but the game was over.
A quick three and out by Seattle consumed all of 64 seconds. That “drive” was one of the keys of this game. As good as the Seahawks defense is, they can’t stay on the field all day. This time Derrick Henry kept the chains moving, and Tennessee scored on another Mariota pass. It was now 23 – 14 and 12’s were growing more nervous. This time the Seahawks did manage to get a first down before punting to the Titans. You have to take your victories where you find them, you know.
The Titans applied the coup de grace on the very next play, as DeMarco Murray turned the corner, made a nice cut and faked another, then dumped the ball in the end zone after his 75 yard run. K. J. Wright missed two shots to tackle Murray, and Jeremy Lane got stiff-armed twice by blockers. It actually looked more like Lane was rag-dolled, because he traveled about five yards both times.
Seahawks try to make a game of it in the fourth
Seattle did put together a nice drive that began in the third quarter. Amazingly, Russell Wilson found a tight end for the touchdown strike. Luke Willson was the target this time. Hey, as long as they remember the tight end is eligible, I’m okay if it isn’t Jimmy Graham.
The Seahawks did mount one more drive to get it even closer, scoring on Russell Wilson fourth touchdown pass of the day just after the two minute warning. The Titans recovered the onside kick, and in an all-too-fitting ending, held onto the ball on a fourth down punt when the Seahawks were flagged for 12 men on the field. Fitting, because Seattle made key mistakes over and over, and were penalized 11 times in the game.
Russell Wilson wound up with a deceptively good stat line: 373 yards passing, 4 touchdowns and no interceptions. But 20 incompletions on 49 attempts results in too many three and outs. Again, the offense couldn’t stay on the field for long enough chunks to get the defense some rest. And granted, there were just too many mistakes by the defense – almost half as many as the refs called. Yes, there were some ridiculous penalties today, but that’s life in the NFL. The refs didn’t turn us around on Murray’s backbreaker touchdown.
Despite Wilson’s heroics, 69 yards rushing is not going to win many ballgames. If the Seahawks can’t figure out how to get the ground game going, this is going to be a long season.