Seahawks Halftime Observations: 'Hawks Come Out Flat, Trail Titans 10-7
Sleepwalking out of the gate on Christmas Eve, Geno Smith and the Seahawks stumbled through an ugly half of football to fall behind 10-3 to the Titans at Nissan Stadium.
Here are three quick observations from Nashville:
1. Aside from pair of explosives, Smith and company couldn't find an offensive rhythm.
Welcoming Smith back to action after a two-game absence, the veteran quarterback completed 10 out of 16 pass attempts, but he averaged under 4.5 yards per attempt and found himself under frequent duress. Moving well coming off a groin injury, his athleticism didn't appear limited on bootleg or roll out plays. With that said, he seemed hesitant to throw the ball down field, several times settling for quick dump offs to running backs for minimal yardage, including a four yard loss to Charbonnet to knock the Seahawks out of field goal range late in the second quarter. When he has taken shots downfield, he missed an opportunity to connect with Tyler Lockett on a deep ball on a free play that could have resulted in a 40-plus yard touchdown. Overall, the offense went two for seven on third down with the passing game scuffling.
Geno Smith took a pair of sacks in his return to action in the first half for Seattle and has been under frequent duress in Week 16.
© Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
On the ground, Seattle's offensive line hasn't been able to create consistent push against a defensive front minus star defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons, as 24 of Ken Walker III's 28 rushing yards came on a single carry where he bolted outside on a cutback. Otherwise, he has been held under a yard per carry for the rest of the game, getting blown up multiple times on shotgun runs that didn't have any chance of being successful due to subpar blocking. If you're looking for positives, at least DeeJay Dallas plunged forward on 3rd and 1 on the team's opening drive on a "tush push" sneak for a first down.
2. Against an injury-marred line, Seattle can't find an answer for slowing down Tennessee ground game.
Similar to the defensive side of the ball, Tennessee entered Sunday's game without starting guard Daniel Brunskill and the offensive line already has struggled with him in the lineup. But despite the injuries and poor performance, the group has looked strong against Seattle thus far, opening up big running lanes for Henry, who rushed for 58 yards on only eight carries. Primarily attacking the Seahawks off tackle, the Titans were able to take advantage of poor edge setting by outside linebackers and cornerbacks, allowing the 245-pound back to get a full head of steam and rumble for multiple 10-plus yard gains.
Away from Henry, Ryan Tannehill has looked spry at 35 years young, rushing for 37 yards on a pair of scrambles. The first one came on a 3rd and 11 play in Seahawks territory as nobody maintained contain on the left side and cornerback Coby Bryant failed to notice the quarterback had the football, allowing him to race 23 yards for a back-breaking conversion that led to a field goal. Later in the half, he bolted a dissolving pocket again for a 14-yard run with Bryant again whiffing on a tackle attempt. Keeping him in check as a runner will be critical to Seattle's chances in the final two quarters.
3. Trickery catches Seahawks napping as Henry turns in Dan Marino impression.
While Henry made an impact bulldozing his way through and around Seattle's defense in the first half, his most crucial play came as a passer. As Tennessee has done quite often over the years in the red zone, offensive coordinator Tim Kelly dialed up a halfback pass from the 12-yard line and Seattle's safeties shot downhill looking to stop him as a runner. With nobody in coverage, tight end Chigo Okonkwo came wide open and the back delivered a perfect strike to him for a 12-yard score to put the Titans out in front to the jubilation of the Nissan Stadium crowd.
Tennessee tried to run a couple of other trick plays in the first half, as safety Julian Love demolished receiver Chris Moore to force an incompletion on a flea flicker and a double reverse got blown up for a loss as well. But with the team already eliminated from contention for the playoffs, coach Mike Vrabel's squad is playing fearless and looks ready to roll the dice with hopes of pulling an upset at home. Seattle's defense will have to be ready for anything after halftime.
