The Seattle Seahawks recovered from a sluggish start on offense and continued their stellar preseason on defense, taking a 12-7 halftime lead over the Tennessee Titans with a 23-yard touchdown catch by Easop Winston Jr.
Quarterback Sam Howell made smart decisions with the football and showed off his agility and talent on the throwing arm in the first two quarters when faced with inconsistent line play. He completed 11 of 14 passes for 153 yards and capped Seattle’s only touchdown drive by throwing a beautiful pass to Winston on a fade route right into the receiver’s hands. After setting up that touchdown throw, he extended the drive by evading several rushers, getting into the pocket and finding tight end AJ Barner for a 16-yard catch on 3rd-and-3.
Howell later added a 33-yard pass to receiver Cody White that helped set up a 10-play, 78-yard drive in the second quarter that set up a 27-yard field goal by kicker Jason Myers to extend the lead to nine points. He also drove the Seahawks 43 yards in just 38 seconds, with two first-down throws to Winston and tight end Brady Russell at the end of the half to set up a 48-yard field goal by Myers to take a five-point lead into halftime.
Running back Kenny McIntosh contributed to the Seahawks’ touchdown attack by scoring 12- and 11-yard runs on consecutive plays. He used strong blocks from center Olu Oluwatimi and guard Anthony Bradford to accelerate to the second level on the first run and cut behind a quality wham block from tight end Tyler Mabry on the second run. He finished the half with seven carries for 46 yards and also added a 10-yard catch for a first down.
Coach Mike Macdonald’s defense picked up where it left off a week ago in the season opener against the Chargers, continuing to wreak havoc thanks to an active pass rush on offense led by Derick Hall. The Auburn sophomore outside linebacker got off to a fast start, forcing the Titans to punt after a three-and-out, and later applied more pressure in a dominant first half.
In addition to Hall, Boye Mafe also made his presence felt at the other outside position for Seattle, generating triple pressures, including twice when he had Tennessee quarterback Malik Willis flee the pocket before throwing incomplete passes on third down. Overall, the Titans converted just two of six third downs and switched chains seven times for first downs in the half, but they finished the game on a strong note when Mason Rudolph hit Nick Westbrook-Ikhine with a slant for a 15-yard touchdown after beating rookie cornerback DJ James with a slant.
On special teams, Myers kicked an extra point after Winston’s touchdown catch that bounced off the upright, and rookie cornerback Dee Williams opened the game with an excellent 41-yard kick return after a powerful lead block by Laviska Shenault. This marks two straight games under the new rules that Seattle has had a 40-yard preseason return.
