The Seahawks look to rebound against the struggling Titans before NFL’s stretch run
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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Seattle Seahawks haven’t lost consecutive games this season and are in no mood to start now with the NFL approaching the stretch run to the playoffs.
They are focused on improving quickly after a 21-19 loss to the Los Angeles Rams pushed Seattle (7-3) to second in the NFC West.
“There needs to be a sense of urgency now because we’ve got to start playing our best football, we’re in the second half of the year going into the last quarter of the season,” coach Mike Macdonald said.
The Seahawks have traveled well under Macdonald, going 11-2 on the road. They visit Tennessee (1-9) on Sunday, a struggling team that keeps finding ways to hurt itself.
The Titans have lost five straight, four of those since Brian Callahan was fired and replaced by interim coach Mike McCoy. They also have lost nine consecutive games at home, two shy of the longest such skid since relocating to Tennessee.
The Titans blew a 6-0 lead in the third quarter before losing 16-13 to Houston last week.
“We’ve just got to make more plays more consistently,” McCoy said.
Bounce-back opportunity
The Seahawks, who have the fourth-most sacks in the NFL with 32, failed to notch even one last week against the Rams. Seattle held Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford to 130 passing yards but couldn’t take him down.
“Overall, we just didn’t put ourselves in enough situations where they had to truly drop back and pass,” defensive tackle Leonard Williams said. “In those times where they did, I think we got pressure to Stafford and he had to throw the ball away a few times.”
That should change against Tennessee. Rookie quarterback Cam Ward has been sacked a league-most 41 times, including three last week. Ward’s been sacked at least twice in each game so far.
Watch out for the Titans
Tennessee got back a couple defensive starters last week in three-time Pro Bowl tackle Jeffery Simmons and linebacker Arden Key, and they helped the Titans establish a new season-low for points allowed.
The team also had four sacks and has 22 since Oct. 5. That’s the third-highest total in the NFL in that span, trailing Denver (34) and Atlanta (24). It won’t be easy getting to Sam Darnold, who has been sacked just 10 times this season. Simmons leads the Titans with 5 1/2 sacks despite missing most of three games.
“He’s one of the best,” Macdonald said of Simmons. “He plays hard, plays physical, and they do a good job of moving him around and matching him up. So, he’s a guy that we’re going to have to account for.”
Defending Jaxon Smith-Njigba
The Seahawks wide receiver leads the NFL with 1,146 receiving yards, already eclipsing his total from last season. He’s 208 yards ahead of the next closest receiver.
Smith-Njigba is the first player in NFL history with at least 75 yards receiving in each of his first 10 games in a season. With at least 75 yards receiving Sunday, he would become the third to string together 11 such games in one season, joining Pro Football Hall of Famer Marvin Harrison (14) and teammate Cooper Kupp (13).
Who are we?
The Titans are last in the NFL in total yards as an offense, last with a meager 14.3 points scored per game and 32nd in passing yards. They’ve scored just 10 touchdowns, and penalties are a continuing problem for an offense that struggles to extend drives.
Tight end Chig Okonkwo couldn’t answer what the Titans’ offensive identity is in a season where Callahan handed off play-calling duties before being fired.
“Honestly, I can’t tell you exactly what it is because each week the things we put on tape is not what we are preaching,” Okonkwo said.
Walker III going wild
Darnold and Smith-Njigba quietly are getting help from running back Kenneth Walker III. He leads Seattle with 606 rushing yards on 136 carries, good for 4.5 yards per attempt. Walker hasn’t averaged that many yards per carry since his rookie season (4.6) in 2022.
He’s a big reason why the Seahawks have topped 100 yards rushing in three of the last four games. Walker ran for 67 yards in each of the past two weeks, and he had three catches for 44 yards against the Rams.
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AP Sports Writer Andrew Destin in Seattle contributed to this report.
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl