4 winners and losers from Seattle Seahawks must-win Week 16 victory over the Titans

Winner No. 3 - Head coach Pete Carroll

Another week where a loss might have sent a bunch of 12s out with torches and pitchforks for Pete Carroll came to naught as Seattle did the Seahawks-y thing of looking horrible at times, mentally lost at other times, destined to lose, and then winning at the end. Geno Smith's game-winning fourth quarterback comeback drive was his fourth of the season, for instance.

Say what one will about Pete Carroll, but his teams do not quit either on the season or during a game. Unlike many games, Seattle also made halftime adjustments and flipped the scrip in the second half outscoring the Titans 17-7 and outgaining them 180 yards to 117. Seattle also picked up 15 first downs in the second half.

To be honest, the Seahawks team simply is not as good as the San Francisco 49ers. In fact, no team might be as good as the 49ers. The question about the Seahawks is whether they are as good as they can be. We should not forget how young the roster is still and has a lot of important roles filled by rookies and second year guys. Those kinds of teams make mistakes.

Seattle also finished the toughest four-game stretch in the NFL in 2023 when they played the 49ers twice, the Dallas Cowboys once, and the Eagles once between Weeks 12 and 15. All this and the team is still in a better position than they were in 2022 when after 15 games Seattle was 7-8. The Seahawks currently hold the 7th spot in the NFC playoff race meaning if the season ended today, Seattle would be in the playoffs. There are two games left and Seattle still needs to win those, but they won't stop fighting under Pete Carroll.

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