Seahawks vs Titans: 3 quick keys to the week 2 matchup

The Seahawks play their second straight AFC South team to start the 2021 season on Sunday when Seattle plays the Titans. Seattle needs to do three things to start their season 2-0 after they won relatively easy (at least for a Seattle game) in week one over the Colts.

Tennessee, though, played horribly in week one against the Cardinals and the Titans will be looking for a bounce-back win and Tennessee has the offensive talent to do this. This may be the first game in 21 months in Seattle where 12s can be in the stands but this game likely will not be an easy one.

Still, it will be interesting to see how having actual fans back at Lumen Field energizes the team. It’s odd to think that some key players, such as Jordyn Brooks and Damien Lewis, have never played a real home game (preseason doesn’t count) in the NFL without any 12s cheering them on.

3 quick keys to a Seahawks victory against the Titans in week 2

Number one: Stop Derrick Henry

In week one against the Cardinals, Henry didn’t really have a chance to get going as the Cardinals grabbed a decisive early lead. Henry only had 17 carries and 58 yards. Since Henry began his career in 2016, he has actually only had one game rushing for over 100 yards in the first two weeks of seasons. Hopefully, Henry won’t have a great game against Seattle either.

But if Henry is able to pick up yards early, the Titans will keep feeding him the ball and Tennessee will control the clock and wear out the Seattle defense. This obviously means less time for Russell Wilson to be on the field and Tennessee could win a fairly low-scoring game and dominate time of possession.

Number two: Get off to a fast start offensively

The Titans were not good defensively last year and didn’t look any better in week one against Arizona. Cardinals quarterback threw for 4 touchdowns and ran for another and Wilson is better than Murray. In week one, Seattle had 21 points at halftime and I think the Seahawks need at least that much in week two.

Seattle has at times in recent years started games slowly. Early drives that end up going nowhere could be a killer in this game for Seattle as the Titans could get the ball back and simply tire out the Seahawks D. That said, if Seattle has several early drives that result in points, especially touchdowns, this game could end up going for Tennessee like their week one game did.

Number three: Don’t stop being aggressive once Seattle has a lead

Last week Seattle won fairly easily and there was no doubt late in the game over the outcome. Heck, even the Colts gave up as they were huddling late in the game when they should have been snapping the ball quickly. But the Seahawks scored just 7 points in the second half and were snapping the ball with less time on the play clock so it appeared Seattle was trying to slow the game down.

I thought Seattle’s offense was much better when they were snapping the ball more quickly and had great rhythm. When the offense slowed down it was worse. The Seahawks need to maintain their sense of urgency this entire game to seal the victory.