I usually don’t believe in the “power” that certain taboos seem to have. The 1–9 Tennessee Titans didn’t look like a team capable of keeping the game within one possession — but that’s exactly what happened.
The Seattle Seahawks committed several mistakes that prevented this matchup from being a major improvement compared to the game against the Los Angeles Rams.
Still, as I always say: a win is a win.
All data in this article was taken from PFF.
The Bad
The defense had sloppy moments
The unit forced no turnovers against a rookie quarterback and failed to finish countless plays. They allowed 27 rushing yards to non-QBs and another 37 yards on Ward scrambles. The team simply wasn’t prepared for this — even though it’s one of the QB’s main strengths.
Two wide receivers made their season debut for Tennessee, meaning the rookie QB didn’t even have his top weapons, as Calvin Ridley and Elic Ayomanor were injured. It became the third-best game of Chimere Dike’s career, the best game of Gunnar Helm’s (TE) career, and the defense allowed 42 and 26 yards to James Proche and Xavier Restrepo in their first appearances. Those aren’t the numbers of a defense that aims to be dominant.
The secondary did its job, but the pass rush failed to accomplish its main task: speeding up the quarterback. The defense looked overconfident that “the play would happen eventually,” and didn’t execute with full intensity to finish plays.
They covered well deep and generated pressure, but consistently let Ward escape, leading to completions and yards after the catch.
There were sloppy moments, but also clear execution errors. In one play, Derick Hall attempted an improvised stunt two gaps inside and opened a lane for the QB to escape.
The offensive line remains inconsistent
The OL continues to be unstable across the board. They committed 5 penalties (4 accepted). Ken Walker finished with over 100 scrimmage yards, but his first half was rough: 5 carries for 12 yards (10 of those on the first run) and one reception for 5 yards. He improved in the second half with 6 carries for 59 yards and two catches — one for 29 yards and one for –4.
There was a great snap against a stunt — arguably their best in communication and execution this season. Zach Charbonnet initially read the #33, but when he didn’t blitz, he shifted to the opposite side. The DTs executed the stunt, but Anthony Bradford, Grey Zabel, and Olu Oluwatimi identified it well. The movement drew enough attention to free a late blitz in the B-gap, but Zabel made solid first contact, though his technique came dangerously close to a holding penalty.
The run game also had a highlight: Olu slowed down the DT, Abe Lucas blocked the backside, Charles Cross sealed the edge, and the guards climbed well to the second level — something the team has struggled with. Result: a beautiful run by Walker.
But too often, the OL simply fails to impose itself physically. Bradford doesn’t open the gap, Zabel gets driven back, and Walker is forced to cut straight into an unblocked defender due to Arroyo missing his assignment.
Another play was complete chaos: Olu whiffs and gets hit with a swim move, Lucas and Bradford trip over each other, and AJ Barner loses his angle — resulting in a tackle for loss.
Sam Darnold did not show the recovery expected
Darnold finished 16/26 for 244 yards, 2 TDs, and led the offense without turnovers for only the third time this season. However, he made several risky decisions that nearly resulted in turnovers and struggled with ball placement.
In one play, he takes a hit — he clearly saw the pressure — yet still forced a dangerous throw that nearly became an interception.
His accuracy dipped under pressure. On another snap, he steps up in the pocket but still misses a throw to Barner that should have been more precise.
Even when clean, he sometimes made poor decisions: a sideline throw that needed to be far more outside, and was only saved from interception thanks to Walker.
Another example: he escapes the pocket with room to run but instead attempts a very difficult throw against his body. The ball is deflected and nearly intercepted.
In a third-and-goal, both the play call and execution were questionable. Darnold locks onto JSN on a route that doesn’t even break into the endzone. He never looks at the opposite side, where Barner cleared space for Kupp — a much more promising option.
There were good moments: a TD pass under pressure after a Cross mistake, with perfect timing to JSN. The route was so good that JSN had almost the entire end zone to work with, but both QB and WR were completely in sync.
His best throw came after a mistake from Nick Kallerup forced him to shorten the rollout. Darnold adjusted his footwork, gained time stepping up, and connected with JSN deep.
The Good
Klint Kubiak is opening up the playbook
Seattle recorded 353 total yards, punted only twice, and had no offensive turnovers — just the third time this season. Good numbers, but…
They finished 2-of-7 on third downs and nearly threw multiple interceptions. The offense looks lethal when JSN is the target, but becomes painfully bureaucratic when the ball goes elsewhere.
Kubiak has been creative and is opening the toolbox, but the offense still hasn’t regained its most dominant form. When JSN wasn’t the target, the passing offense produced fewer than 80 yards on 15 attempts.
The team also struggles when building a lead: either they stall or turn the ball over. This allowed the Titans back into the game — and a better team might have flipped it.
Red-zone performance has been concerning for two straight weeks. One drive illustrates the issue perfectly: run for loss, delay of game, bad throw, bad play call. Multiple causes require multiple fixes.
There were good calls as well:
- Using shifts to manipulate LBs.
- Frequent insert-C concepts to create extra gaps.
- Creative variations of previously used designs, such as fake counter + end around with Elijah Arroyo as the lead blocker after the fake;
- Motion isolating JSN against a safety — resulting in another long TD.
Final Thoughts
Perhaps the team simply didn’t enter the game with the focus required. If that’s the case, it’s a problem — but a smaller one than a true drop-off in performance. And that matters because the NFC West race is now extremely complicated. Even if Seattle wins out, the Rams only need to lose to Seattle to still take the division.
In other words: the Seahawks must be perfect (particularly against Rams, 49ers, and Colts) and still hope for a Rams stumble.
The defense let the rookie escape the pocket too often. The offense, while lethal when targeting JSN, became inefficient when spreading the ball. The next matchup is against one of the most disguise-heavy defenses in the league — a significant challenge for Darnold.
