Seahawks Rapid Reaction: Geno Smith, Pass Rush Come in Clutch in 20-17 Win vs. Titans
Staging last minute heroics for a second straight week with Geno Smith at the wheel this time around, the Seattle Seahawks overcame a late deficit with a touchdown pass to Colby Parkinson to outlast the Tennessee Titans in a 20-17 victory at Nissan Stadium.
Rebounding from a somewhat sluggish first half, Smith conducted two long touchdown drives in the fourth quarter, finding Parkinson and Metcalf for scores to help Seattle earn another comeback win. On defense, Boye Mafe got to Ryan Tannehill twice for sacks and Jarran Reed forced a fumble on a sack as they held the Titans to under 300 yards of offense to jump back into the final wild card spot in the NFC.
Here are five quick takeaways from Seattle's dramatic win in Nashville:
1. Seahawks overcome red zone blues at perfect time to cap off lengthy drive.
Stuck in neutral for most of the afternoon, Smith managed to lead Seattle into the red zone twice in the second and third quarter with promising drives fueled by big plays. But neither possession resulted in a touchdown, as the quarterback unloaded the ball a hair too late on two missed potential touchdown throws to Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Colby Parkinson in the back left corner of the end zone, leading to short Jason Myers field goals. The results shouldn't have necessarily been surprising, as Tennessee entered Sunday with the NFL's top red zone defense.
Still, the Titans were missing several key players on defense, including defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons. Playing a number of backups at all three levels, the Seahawks finally were able to crack the code on a 96-yard touchdown drive while receiving a bit of help from the home team with a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty on Jaleel Johnson. Starting at their own four-yard line, Smith fired a dart over the middle to Smith-Njigba for 20 yards to give the team breathing room. Moments later, he connected with Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf on 21 and 12-yard receptions to move the chains and get back to the red zone. On the ensuing second down, the quarterback dropped a dime to Metcalf in the back left corner and he made a spectacular one-handed catch while getting both feet down, giving the visitors their first lead at 13-10.
Matching his backup Drew Lock's efforts from Monday, Geno Smith wrote his own comeback story delivering a touchdown present to Colby Parkinson for the Christmas Eve win.
© Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
After the Titans answered with a touchdown drive of their own, Smith came back firing on all cylinders. Following what looked to be a devastating sack that set up a 3rd and 14, he fired a dart to Smith-Njigba over the middle for an 18-yard gain. Aided by two first down connections with Lockett and a 22-yard pass interference penalty on Tre Avery against Metcalf, Smith capped off the drive hooking up with Parkinson from five yards out for his fourth game-winning drive of the season. Stepping up in the clutch, he completed seven of 10 passes for 57 yards on the drive and most importantly, finished inside the 20.
2. Inconsistent blocking against a banged-up Titans front helped bottle up Walker, Seattle's run game.
After rushing for 100 yards against a stout Eagles defensive line on Monday night, the Seahawks intended to keep momentum going against a Titans defense that had allowed 158 and 148 yards on the ground in successive losses. But aside from a 24-yard run by Walker in the second quarter that set up Myers' first field goal, even without Simmons on the field and a litany of other injuries in the front seven, the offensive line could not generate consistent push at the line of scrimmage and allowed frequent backfield penetration.
Overall, with the Titans swarming him every time he touched the ball, Walker rushed 15 times for 54 yards, netting 30 yards on 14 carries away from his longest run. Not getting a touch until the fourth quarter, rookie Zach Charbonnet ran twice near the goal line on the final drive and got stuffed for a three-yard loss, finishing with zero net rushing yards. As a team, it was a dreadful overall effort rushing for 58 total yards and under three yards per carry.
3. Capitalizing on poor edge setting, Derrick Henry and Titans feasted on 'Hawks shaky run defense.
Over the previous two weeks, running without any blocking to speak of against the Dolphins and Texans, Henry rushed for 43 combined yards and less than two yards per carry in the worst two-game stretch of his career. But even without starting guard Daniel Brunskill available for a struggling offensive line, "Tractorcito" bulldozed through and around the Seahawks defense from the outset. Primarily finding success off tackle, he regularly found big creases and was able to get running downhill with the defense not able to set a firm edge, allowing him to rush for 58 yards on just eight carries in the first half. Rookie Tyjae Spears also found plenty of success rushing four times for 21 yards before halftime.
In the final two quarters, Seattle did a little better job bottling up Henry, holding him to 30 yards on 11 carries. However, those numbers were skewed by goal line runs and he powered his way forward on a three-yard touchdown run late in the fourth quarter after an unnecessary roughness penalty on cornerback Artie Burns gifted Tennessee a new set of downs. He also caught an 11-yard screen on that drive, while Spears plowed forward on 4th and 1 for a two-yard gain to extend the scoring drive. Add in 37 rushing yards by quarterback Ryan Tannehill and the Titans rushed for 162 yards and north of five yards per carry, numbers the Seahawks won't find acceptable in victory.
4. Inexcusable chunk plays on third down, penalties fueled Tennessee's scoring drives all afternoon.
Given all the injuries Tennessee has dealt with, including rookie quarterback Will Levis suffering a high ankle sprain last week, it has been tough sledding for the group to score points most of the season. Stat-wise, Seattle only yielded 287 yards of total offense, a quality number in today's high-scoring NFL. But yards only paint part of the picture, as situational football and discipline issues continued to be an Achilles heel for coach Pete Carroll's team on defense, contributing directly to all three of the Titans' scoring drives.
On their first touchdown drive, after starting with excellent field position at their own 43-yard line, safety Quandre Diggs got nailed for a helmet-to-helmet hit on Treylon Burks for a 15-yard penalty. Moments later, Spears slipped through the line on 3rd and 2 and shot out of a pile for a seven-yard gain to extend the drive, setting up a halfback touchdown pass from Henry to Chigo Okonkwo. Later in the half, Tannehill escaped multiple pass rushers on 3rd and 11 and evaded cornerback Coby Bryant, taking off for a 23-yard gain to set up a Nick Folk field goal.
After Smith orchestrated what looked to be a game-winning drive culminating with Metcalf's touchdown, Seattle's defense again couldn't get off the field primarily due to penalties. With the Titans facing 3rd and 11 from the Seattle 26-yard line, Tannehill airmailed a throw to receiver DeAndre Hopkins, but cornerback Tre Brown wrapped him up at the top of the route, drawing an easy defensive pass interference call. Moments later, cornerback Artie Burns got nabbed near the goal line with a retaliatory shove after the whistle, giving Tennessee another free set of downs inside the five to set up Henry's touchdown run.
5. From the front line to linebackers, Seattle's pass rush enjoyed a strong day harassing Tannehill.
While the Seahawks had to go back to the drawing board at halftime seeking a solution for slowing down Henry and Spears, the pass rush came out hot and put pressure on Tannehill all day long. Defensive tackle Jarran Reed kicked off the festivities less than two minutes into the game when he powered his way into the backfield and strip-sacked Tannehill on third down, leading to a three-and-out and punt. Snapping a five-game drought, Boye Mafe found his way to the quarterback for his eighth sack in the second quarter, while Mario Edwards tallied his second sack of the year against his former team.
Putting a bow on a Christmas Eve victory, Seattle's pass rush truly came to life in the final quarter. Linebacker Bobby Wagner obliterated Tannehill on a blitz early in the fourth quarter, only for the Titans to end up converting on third down two plays later. But with the game hanging in the balance following Smith's touchdown to Parkinson, Mafe and Dre'Mont Jones recorded critical sacks inside the final minute, with Mafe's forcing Tennessee to burn its final timeout and Jones' huge play bleeding the clock under five seconds to play before Tannehill could get another snap off, sealing a close victory.
