Seahawks come alive too late, falling to the Titans, 33-27



NASHVILLE, Tenn. – If nothing else, it was memorable.

The Seattle Seahawks lost an ugly game to the Tennessee Titans, 33-27, at Nissan Stadium on Sunday, battling heat, an uncharacteristically spotty day from the defense, and long stretches of ineptitude from the offense after both a surreal pregame scene in with both teams stayed in their locker rooms in protest during the national anthem.

Though the Seahawks’ offense found spurts of life beginning near the end of the second half, long stretches of drops, overthrown passes and inopportune penalties on both sides of the ball produced a disjointed product on the field. Somehow, they did manage to score those 27 points, but with temperatures in the 90s, too many three-and-outs left the defense gassed and occasional flashes of brilliance from Russell Wilson weren’t enough.


"We missed a lot of passes in the first half, and didn’t throw the ball very well and didn’t catch the ball very well," coach Pete Carroll said. "We left some big plays on the field."

In another bit of bad news, wide receiver Doug Baldwin left the game in the fourth quarter with a groin injury and didn’t return. Baldwin had 10 catches for 105 yards and a touchdown before he was hurt. There was no immediate word on the severity of his injury.

The Seahawks again failed to get a spark from the running game. Chris Carson had 11 carries for 34 yards, but neither Thomas Rawls nor Eddie Lacy had any carries despite being in the lineup. C.J. Prosise also had four carries for 9 yards.

So what to make of the passing game? Russell Wilson had several misfires early on, but completed 29 of 49 passes for 373 yards and four touchdowns – good for a passer rating of 110.3. Jimmy Graham had his best game of the season, catching seven passes for 72 yards.

The defense, normally the Seahawks’ strength, had one of its most difficult outings in recent memory. In particular, the Seahawks were battered in the run game, giving up 196 yards on the ground including the longest run against Seattle in the Pete Carroll era.

Carroll said he approved of his team's decision to protest before the game.

“I thought it was a classy way to demonstrate your dissent,” Carroll said. "I don’t think it had any factor in the game at all.”

Seattle will play host to the Indianapolis Colts next Sunday at CenturyLink Field in 5:30 p.m. game.