The Tennessee Titans (0-1) look to regroup and rebound after falling to one NFC West opponent, 38-13 to the Arizona Cardinals, by travelling west to take on another, the Seattle Seahawks (1-0).
Obviously, what we saw at Nissan Stadium last week was not the start to a highly anticipated season that many fans were looking for. There are plenty of areas to improve upon in Week 2, but the Seahawks are not the ideal opponent for a “get right” game.
Coming off a 12-4 season and a NFC West championship in 2020, Seahawks’ head coach Pete Carroll and his team return to Seattle after a 28-16 season opening victory in Indianapolis. Quarterback Russell Wilson had a near flawless outing in Indy, while running back Chris Carson had 91 of the team’s 140 rushing yards.
As for the Seattle defense, it is a group that was top five in rushing yards allowed per game (95.6) in 2020, but finished 31st in passing yards allowed per game (285.0). Their special teams are solid as well, as punter Michael Dickson pinned four of his five punts last week inside the 20-yard line.
This is a tough challenge for a Titans team that is trying to avoid their first 0-2 start since 2012. Let’s see what corrections a veteran Titans’ team has made from a week ago as they take on another talented NFC West opponent.
Game Information
Tennessee Titans (0-1) @ Seattle Seahawks (1-0)
Game Time: 3:25 pm CDT
Location: Seattle, WA (Lumen Field)
TV: CBS
TV Broadcast Crew: Andrew Catalon, James Lofton, and Sherree Burruss
Radio: Titans Radio, 104-5 The Zone
Radio Broadcast Crew: Mike Keith, Dave McGinnis, Amie Wells, Rhett Bryan
Referee: John Hussey
Line: Seattle -5.5
Over/ Under: 54.5
Three Things to Watch
Balance of Disrupting and Containing Russell Wilson – Seahawks’ quarterback Russell Wilson is off to a nice start to begin the season, completing 18 of 23 passes for 254 yards and four touchdowns last week at Indianapolis. Even with the near perfect performance, ending the game with a passer rating of 152.3, the Colts sacked Wilson three times. With two sacks last week against a mobile Kyler Murray, how can this Titans defense get after the quarterback without opening up running lanes? Entering his 10th season in the NFL, Wilson has rushed for over 4,500 yards, averaging 5.6 yards per carry. Kyler Murray made several off-script plays last week and Wilson has proven throughout his career he can do the same. You would love to pressure Wilson as much as possible, but at the same time, you can not allow the mobile quarterback to hurt you with his legs.
Response from the O-Line – Let’s just say last Sunday was not a great day for the Titans’ offensive line. Arizona sacked Ryan Tannehill six times, five of those sacks coming from Chandler Jones, and the ground game never really got going. With the nightmare of last week’s 38-13 loss behind them, how does this group respond in Seattle? A full week of practice for all five starters, plus having visual evidence from game tape to make corrections should be a big benefit for the entire unit. If the Titans are able to keep it close or even take a lead, they can stick to the running game and giving Derrick Henry the ball and keep the Seahawks’ front seven from pinning their ears back and pressuring Tannehill. One challenge playing at Seattle that the offensive line did not have to deal with at home: the notoriously loud crowd at Lumen Field. This offensive line needs a nice bounce back performance after a rough start to the season last week.
Receivers vs. Receivers – Will they be on the field at the same time? Probably not (A.J. Brown did play one defensive snap at the end of the first half last week, so let’s not completely rule it out). Either way, the top two receivers on both teams make up some of the best duos in the NFL. Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf for the Seahawks give Russell Wilson reliable targets to find downfield, which they proved just last week. Lockett had four receptions for 100 yards and two touchdowns, while Metcalf had 60 yards on four grabs and a score in Indianapolis. On the other side, A.J. Brown and Julio Jones get set to take the field for the second time as teammates. Brown hauled in a touchdown catch last week, with Jones making three grabs for 29 yards in his Titans debut. Should be fun to watch anytime either team airs it out on Sunday in Seattle.
Did You Know?
- The last win in Seattle for the Titans was January 3rd, 2010. In that game, Chris Johnson rushed for 134 yards and two touchdowns, surpassing 2,000 rushing yards in the 2009 season. At the time, Johnson was just the sixth player in NFL history to rush for more than 2,000 yards in a single season.
- Running back Derrick Henry needs 82 rushing yards to become the fourth player in the franchise’s history to reach 6,000 rushing yards. He would join Eddie George (10,009), Earl Campbell (8,574), and Chris Johnson (7,965) as the fourth player to reach the milestone.
- Wide receiver Julio Jones is 75 receiving yards away from becoming the 20th player in NFL history to reach 13,000 career receiving yards. Jones needs 122 receiving yards to pass Jason Witten, who currently sits 19th on the NFL’s career receiving yards leaderboard.
