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6 takeaways from Seattle's 20-17 win over Tennessee

Published

12 months ago

December 24, 2023

6 takeaways from Seattle's 20-17 win over Tennessee

What, did you think you were going to get a normal Seattle Seahawks game on Christmas Eve? Any wishes for a “stress free” Seahawks win went unanswered, so we’ll all have to settle for another thrilling comeback victory. Although less dramatic than a Monday Night Football setting against the Eagles, Sunday’s win over the Tennessee Titans is no less important.

It may not have been as easy as some expected, but Seattle did take advantage of their newfound life by beating a team they should. It was not pretty, but as I’ve said many times, style points do not matter in the NFL.

The Seahawks are back above .500, and control their own fate for the playoffs. Here are the top takeaways from their 20-17 win.

Additionally, we at Seahawks Wire want to wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas this year!

Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images

For a second consecutive week, the Seahawks led a game-winning drive in the final minutes to secure a victory. Trailing 17-13, Geno Smith did his best “Drew Lock” impression and helped guide Seattle to a touchdown. Smith passed the ball ten times (compared to only three called runs) on the final drive, completing seven passes for 57 yards and the go-ahead touchdown.

Smith now has four comeback wins this season, which is the most in the NFL. He has done so against Detroit, Cleveland, Washington, and now Tennessee. Had Jason Myers connected on his final field goal against the Rams, Smith would have five this year.

Tennessee Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill (17) is pressured by Seattle Seahawks linebacker Boye Mafe (53) during their game at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tenn., Sunday, Dec. 24, 2023.

The pass rush has not quite been there for the Seahawks as of late. But against the weak Titans offensive line, Seattle’s defensive front found a way to deliver coal in Ryan Tannehill’s stocking. The Seahawks recorded six sacks, including two from Boye Mafe to bring his season total to nine.

The biggest sack came via Dre’Mont Jones, who brought Tannehill down on the second to last play of the game. Tennessee, needing a field goal, had made it to the 50 yard line. Jones’ sack kept the clock running, and an ill-fated completed pass helped drain the clock for the Seahawks.

Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images

The Seahawks defense is unfortunately back to getting gashed on the ground. In fairness to them, they’ve routinely had to play teams who excel at running the ball. San Francisco, Philadelphia and Tennessee all make it a focal point of their offense. The difference with the Titans is, it’s the only way they can move the ball.

Running back Derrick Henry remains a force of nature, paving the way for Tennessee. Henry had 88 of the Titans’ 162 rush yards for the day, as well as a touchdown. Seattle needs to continue finding a way to stop teams from running all over them, as it is continuing to be a major problem.

Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images

Last week, DK Metcalf stole the show in the fourth quarter. On Sunday, Seattle’s veteran receiver Tyler Lockett got to be the star in the clutch. Lockett led the team with eight receptions on eleven targets, recording 81 receiving yards.

Also coming up big for Seattle late (again) was Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who was second on the team in receptions (6) and yards (61). The growth of the rookie has been a pleasant development in the second half of this season.

Of course, Metcalf did haul in the first touchdown of the day, his eighth of the season. Metcalf now only needs three yards to eclipse 1,000 receiving for the third time in his career.

Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images

None of us would consider Seattle vs Tennessee as an actual rivalry. These teams hardly play each other. But the Titans have quietly owned the Seahawks in recent years. Historically, Seattle leads the Titans/Oilers franchise 11-8 all time (Sunday’s win included). But going into the game, the Seahawks had lost three of the last four meetings between these teams since 2010. The only victory being a (fitting) 20-13 win over a Ryan Fitzpatrick-led squad during the 2013 season.

In the last two meetings, the Titans ran wild over Seattle, including bullying the Legion of Boom. Tennessee scored 33 points in both games, including overcoming a 24-9 halftime deficit to win 33-30 in overtime in the 2021 season. For whatever reason, the Titans remain a brutal matchup for Pete Carroll’s Seahawks. Fortunately, the losing streak came to a halt on Christmas Eve.

Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports

The Seattle Seahawks faced a favorable remaining schedule, but they did need help. With identical 7-7 records going into Christmas Eve, the Minnesota Vikings held a slight advantage. They were in the No. 7 seed, and Seattle was just on the outside looking in at No. 8. At some point, Seattle was going to need help from either the Lions or the Packers to deliver Minnesota a loss.

And they got one right off the bat! Detroit took care of business to defeat the Vikings 30-24. The Lions have claimed their first division title since 1993!

With this Vikings loss, the Seahawks jumped ahead of them in the standings. If Seattle is able to win out, they will secure a playoff spot for a second straight year.

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Titans vs Colts key moments: How Tennessee Titans lost to Indianapolis Colts

Published

8 hours ago

December 22, 2024

Press Room

Titans vs Colts key moments: How Tennessee Titans lost to Indianapolis Colts

The Tennessee Titans continue their December woes with a 38-30 loss to the Indianapolis Colts that was considerably worse than the final score line despite a fourth-quarter comeback attempt.

Indianapolis led 38-7 at one point in the third quarter after the Colts scored 38 straight, but 23 unanswered points by the Titans forced Indianapolis to run a four-minute offense to close the game out.

Tennessee (3-12) was done in by the Colts’ 24-point second quarter. Jonathan Taylor finished with 218 rushing yards and three touchdowns as Tennessee’s defense allowed 335 rushing yards overall.

Here are three key moments from the Titans’ Week 16 game:

Tennessee Titans vs. Indianapolis Colts key moments

Scenario: Titans give Colts good field position after missed 53-yard field goal

Brayden Narveson’s first field goal attempt for the Titans, stepping in for the injured Nick Folk, was from 53 yards in the first quarter with the Titans leading 7-0 with 14:16 left in the second quarter.

Tennessee could have taken a 10-point lead. But Narveson’s kick was short and wide right, giving the Colts the ball near midfield.

The Colts drove down the field after the missed field goal, tying the game on an Anthony Richardson 5-yard touchdown run.

Scenario: Jonathan Taylor’s first touchdown run of the game gives Colts the lead

In a 7-7 game, Colts running back Jonathan Taylor took off for the first of several big runs on Sunday.

Taylor sprinted on zone left run, then cut back and sprinted for a 65-yard touchdown run with 7:25 left in the second quarter. Indianapolis took the lead and never looked back.

Scenario: Kenny Moore’s interception leads to a Josh Downs TD catch, Colts’ 24-7 halftime lead

Mason Rudolph’s telegraphed pass was picked off by Kenny Moore with 1:25 left in the first half, and the Colts quickly took advantage.

Josh Downs took a quick pass on a bubble route and raced past two Titans defenders for a 27-yard touchdown catch just before halftime. Indianapolis led 24-7 at the break, and the Titans’ woes continued.

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What Nico Iamaleava said after Tennessee football's loss at Ohio State

Published

15 hours ago

December 22, 2024

Press Room

What Nico Iamaleava said after Tennessee football’s loss at Ohio State

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Tennessee’s path to the College Football Playoff had been paved with cold-from-behind wins.

On Saturday night at Ohio Stadium, the Vols didn’t have another comeback effort in them.

TALK ABOUT IT IN THE ROCKY TOP FORUM

Hindered by an uncharacteristic performance from its typically reliable defense and injuries, No. 9 Tennessee fell behind three scores in the first half against No. 8 Ohio State and didn’t have the offense to make up for it, leading to a 42-17 defeat that ended its season.

The Vols (10-3) had been plagued by slow starts through the first half of the season, more often than not able to find enough life to win.

They did it against Florida, Alabama and Vanderbilt in the triumph that clinched their first-ever playoff berth.

But that kind of start proved costly vs. the Buckeyes (11-2), who posted more than 430 yards of total offense and never came close to giving up their lead.

If there was any positive that could have been gleaned from Tennessee’s performance, it was quarterback Nico Iamaleava.

Iamaleava, at times during those stagnant starts looked very much like a freshman quarterback trying to find his footing as a now full-time starter.

In the second half of the season, though Iamaleava was more poised and the Vols’ began flourish on that side of the ball.

Tennessee didn’t flourish in many areas on Saturday. What small doses of momentum they found almost always involved Iamaleava.

He ran the ball 20 times for 47 yards, extending drive and rushing for both of the Vols’ only touchdowns.

Here is everything Iamaleava said about the performance.

On if he expected to run the ball 20 times

“I mean, 20 (carries). No, I did not expect to run that many times. Some shots that were there, and overall as a team we didn’t just execute the whole game plan, so got to be better.”

On what disappointed him most about the performance

“Just started off slow. We were supposed to come in, had a great game plan to come in and fire first, and they hit us in the mouth first. We were just trying to recover that whole game. First half I thought we did a great job of that, and second half coming in I thought we could have played at a way higher level than we did.”

On what team can take away from loss

“I think just use it as motivation. We’ve been putting in work since January to get to this point, and it sucks to go out that way because that’s not who we are. love this team. I love the team we have. Just the way tonight went was not the way we wanted it to go, and we’ll use that as fuel and motivation during this off-season to really hit it.”

On what Tennessee needs to do to beat better teams on the road

“I think that all just comes to executing on the road. Like I said, our coaches gave us a great game plan, and us as players, as the team, we’re the ones out there on the field playing, and we’ve just got to hold ourselves to a higher standard and execute at a higher level.”

On Dylan Sampson and Dont’e Thornton Jr. dealing with injuries, how it effected the game

“Shoot, at the end of the day, man, whoever is out there, whether it’s a freshman or not, we’ve got to be able to execute the same way with those guys or not, and we didn’t do a good job of that tonight.“

On the difference between running an offense at home and on the road

“I would just say there’s a crowd noise that plays a factor in how we play. We can’t play as fast as we want to without tempo, and that’s really the biggest factor was crowd noise.”

On what personnel Tennessee can add to open up the offense

“Obviously in the off-season, me, Coach Joey, and Coach Heup are always have conversations about how we can excel this offense, and it’ll be that in the off-season, too.”

On large contingent of Tennessee fans that were at Ohio Stadium

“I love it. Man, I was so happy to see all the orange in the stands. It sucks the performance we gave out for them, but I hope they get home safe, man. I really appreciate their support.”

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Ohio State Shows Major Resolve in CFP Win Over Tennessee

Published

23 hours ago

December 22, 2024

Press Room

Ohio State Shows Major Resolve in CFP Win Over Tennessee

The Ohio State Buckeyes’ loss to the Michigan Wolverines now feels like ages ago.

Ohio State went into its first-round College Football Playoff matchup against the Tennessee Volunteers with major question marks.

Will Howard was under fire. The play calling was in the crosshairs. Ryan Day’s job security had become a regular topic of discussion.

But then, the Buckeyes hammered Tennessee by a score of 42-17 to advance to the Rose Bowl for a chance for revenge against the Oregon Ducks.

Ohio State put together arguably its best performance of the season against a very tough Tennessee opponent. The Buckeyes scored 21 points in the first quarter, immediately sending a message to the Volunteers—and the country—that they meant business.

Howard, who looked like a deer in headlights in the regular-season finale against Michigan, stepped up with a significant performance. Yes, there was the red zone interception, but in the end, it was no harm, no foul (he probably shouldn’t do that against Oregon, though).

Jeremiah Smith looked every bit of the phenom we all thought he was heading into 2024. The defense was tremendous. Day? He coached a terrific game.

But the most impressive part of this showing by Ohio State was the resolve that it demonstrated, picking itself up off the mat after a soul-crushing defeat to the Wolverines earlier in the month.

I have to admit: I wasn’t sure if the Buckeyes had this in them. Not after they mustered just 10 points against a far inferior Michigan opponent, a game in which they were physically beaten up.

And considering that Tennessee’s defense was even stingier than Michigan’s this year, I certainly didn’t anticipate that Ohio State would drop 42 points.

Nevertheless, here we are.

A couple of weeks ago, it was beginning to look like the Buckeyes wouldn’t even have a chance against Oregon. Heck, there were some who felt that the Volunteers would beat them.

It wasn’t due to a lack of talent, either. It was more due to the thought that Ohio State lacked an identity and didn’t seem to have the mental fortitude required to win a national championship.

Remember: the Buckeyes also lost to the Ducks earlier in the season as a result of some mental erros and not being able to seal the deal.

So the concerns surrounding Ohio State heading into the College Football Playoff were legitimate.

But the Buckeyes appear to have flipped a switch, and it appears that their tenacity has finally matched their excessive talent.

Now, we’ll see if Ohio State can exact revenge on Oregon in the Rose Bowl.

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