Seahawks-Titans: Final
What happened and what do you have to say about it?
The Seahawks entered Week 12 coming off of a loss and needing to stack wins however possible to keep pace in a competitive division and conference. That’s the most important thing that happened for Seattle in Tennessee on Sunday — the Seahawks won 30-24 — and at 8-3 they hold the top wild card seed in the NFC with six games to go.
And regardless of an itchy finish that necessitated “recovering” an onside kick, the Seahawks dominated the Titans as much as a team can dominate while only winning by six points:
The Seahawks held a 30-10 lead in the third quarter
The Seahawks offense had a 30-3 lead over the Titans offense
The Seahawks were not in danger of losing their lead at any point after they went up 13-3
Seattle held at least a two-possession lead for the rest of the game until Tennessee’s last play cut it to six. Cam Ward proved that yes, he’s a respectable quarterback if not a great rookie quarterback, but Jaxon Smith-Njigba proved why he’s the frontrunner for Offensive Player of the Year.
JSN caught eight passes for 167 yards, setting a new single season Seahawks franchise record with 1,313 yards.
He’s just 21 receptions shy of setting a new single-season catch record, which belongs to both him and Tyler Lockett. He’s the first player to have 75+ yards in each of his team’s first 11 games and his streak of 75+ yard games is the third-longest in NFL history. I’ve been tracking JSN’s games with 8+ catches and 100+ yards and now he’s at 8 such games in 2025.
It’s only the 12th time in history that a player has had 8 such games in a single season and the record is 10, set by Michael Thomas in 2019. JSN just needs to do it 3 more times in the next 6 games.
Furthermore, JSN has a 63-yard touchdown catch. It’s his 7th catch of the season of 40+ yards, which is 3 more than any other player! By my count, JSN is the only player this season with 2 60+ yard receptions.
JSN should win Offensive Player of the Year. Any competition he had a few weeks ago has fallen by the wayside as Smith-Njigba continues to march towards 2,000.
Punt return touchdown allowed
Were it not for Chimere Dike’s 90-yard touchdown on a punt return, this game would have been another opportunity for Seattle to coast in the fourth quarter. Maybe the experience of having something to play for will benefit them in the long run (?) although Mike Macdonald’s going to have to go to work on what happened on the last drive:
The Titans had a 15-play, 62-yard touchdown drive including three fourth down conversions by Ward.
On the bright side, the drive took 4:25 off of the clock — far too much if you’re Tennessee. It also meant that Ward had to be perfect on the money downs. But the story isn’t changing:
When the Seahawks should have stomped an opponent, they gave them CPR instead.
NFC West standings
These are standings PRIOR to the rest of the Week 12 games:
The Rams play the Bucs on Sunday Night Football. If the Bucs win, the Rams and Seahawks will have the same record by L.A. will continue to hold the lead in the NFC West.
The 49ers play the Carolina Panthers (just off of the screen at 6-5) on Monday Night Football.
Next Week:
Seahawks vs Vikings
49ers at Browns
Rams at Panthers
It could be wins next week for San Francisco and L.A., putting more pressure on Sam Darnold to come up big against the team that pushed him aside for J.J. McCarthy. Who was even worse this week than he’s already been and there would probably be a 100% chance that the Vikings would bench McCarthy if not for the fact that the only other quarterback on the roster is undrafted rookie Max Brosmer.
Even then, Kevin O’Connell might need to consider Brosmer.
What did you have to say about the Seahawks? Leave it in the comments and I’ll share some of them on Monday:
Seaside Joe 2456
I despise corporate gambling and the hold it seems to have on sports and, especially, sports fans.
But let it be noted, if memory serves, that the over/under on Seahawks wins at the beginning of a season, with — begaw! — no DK, no Geno, and the wreckage of Sam Darnold was...7.5 wins. We have already exceeded expectations.
Take a moment to savor that.
From my view in the stands, the defense got sloppy at the end of the third quarter and basically did its job in the fourth quarter. They kept the Titans from scoring a TD outside of two minutes, and that pretty much sealed the game. The most concerning thing for me was the fourth-quarter disappearance of the offensive line after it had more than held its own for three quarters.
Also, there’s nothing like seeing Ken Walker in person to appreciate how talented he is. He’s like George “Iceman” Gervin: he puts a move on a defender with every stride!