Maybe I’m reading too much into things, but isn’t it an indication of just how bad things are going for the Seahawks when they have confusion deciding which side of the field they want to defend after Tennessee won the toss and elected to take the ball?
Oh well. Good or bad, we’re about three hours from the end of the Seahawks season. Will they come out with a good showing to wrap things up, or are we headed towards a fourth straight blowout? Stay tuned to find out.
Titans take a 7-0 lead
It looks like, as expected, we’re going to see a lot of Chris Johnson today as the running back attempts to become the sixth player in NFL history to rush for 2,000 yards in a season. Johnson carried eight times on that drive for 35 yards, including a 6-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-one. That was the second time on the drive that the Titans elected to go for it on fourth-and-one rather than punt.
Johnson needs 93 more yards today to get over 2,000.
Seahawks go three-and-out. Anybody surprised?
A new year didn’t bring a new result for the Seahawks offense. For the sixth time in seven games, Seattle went three-and-out on its first possession, a drive that ended with Matt Hasselbeck getting sacked when the Titans brought a ton of pressure.
Vince Young goes deep to… Deon Grant
Not sure who the Titans quarterback thought was going to catch that ball, but both Grant and Marcus Trufant had better chances of getting to that ball than did intended receiver Justin Gage. Grant was able to make the catch despite the cast he’s still wearing on one hand, and the Seahawks will start with the ball on their 28-yard line.
Seahawks through two drives: 3-yards, no first downs
Yup, not much else to say about that. Hey, at least they haven’t turned it over yet. So they’ve got that going for them, which is nice.
Seahawks on the move…
… Thanks to Tennessee penalties. At the end of the quarter, the Seahawks are finally into Titans territory, but they only have 13 yards of offense. A pass interference call and a defensive offsides flag helped keep things going.
But as I wrote that, Julius Jones lost a yard on third-and-one, forcing the Seahawks to punt once again. So the Seahawks are now winning the turnover battle, have the advantage of 41 penalty yards called against Tennessee, and trail by seven. At home. Good times.
Seahawks move the ball, score points…
… and now I’m checking weather.com to see if temperatures are cooling rapidly in hell. OK, I guess that’s not that funny, but it is a bit jarring to see the Seahawks drive down the field with such ease after watching them score 24 points in the last three games, and 12 yards of offense on three possessions before that last drive.
The Seahawks moved down field quickly thanks to a 24-yard pass to TJ Houshmandzadeh, a 17-yard pass from Seneca Wallace to Houshmandzadeh on a trick play, and a 24-yard run by Justin Forsett. Hasselbeck hit John Carlson in the end zone for a 6-yard score to finish the drive. Carlson then nearly had his dunk attempt blocked by the cross bar, which was still shaking when Olindo Mare kicked the extra point.
Johnson breaks one record, more to come?
Chris Johnson’s last pass reception moved him ahead of Marshall Faulk’s NFL record for scrimmage yards in a season. Faulk had 2,429 total yards in 1999 for St. Louis. Johnson has already rushed 16 times, and has 59 yards so far.
Oh, and for those who care about the game itself, both teams have traded punts since the Carlson touchdown. Seahawks fans, who have been doing a lot of booing these past few home games, weren’t too happy about Jim Mora’s decision to punt rather than attempt what would have been a 52 or 53-yard field goal.
Seahawks not losing at halftime
They’re not winning either, but hey, a 7-7 tie counts as progress after the last three weeks of uncompetitive play. Tennessee had a chance to take the lead on their final drive, but missed a 47-yard field goal in the final seconds. That could have been a much more manageable field goal had Vince Young not been called for grounding two plays before the Titans were flagged for delay of game while attempting a 42 yarder (which appeared to be good, by the way).
And so far no turnovers for Matt Hasselbeck, who had nine in the last two games.
Chris Johnson now has 73 yards on 19 carries, meaning he’s 55 yards away from 2,000.
Seahawks take a 10-7 lead
And for those who forgot what “Seahawks take a lead” means, that is when Seattle has more points than its opponent. The Seahawks did briefly lead against Tampa before yielding 24 unanswered points, but this is their first lead in the second half of a game since beating San Francisco four weeks ago. Olindo Mare made his 20th consecutive field goal, this one from 35 yards, to give Seattle the lead. The big play on the drive was a 35-yard pass to Deion Branch.
Titans tie it
Rob Bironas, who missed from 47 yards out at the end of the first half, was good from that same distance a moment ago to tie the game.
Chris Johnson already has 26 carries with 4:40 left in the third quarter, and has 103 yards, leaving him 25 from 2,000. He is also only the second back this year to go over 100 yards against the Seahawks.
10-10 after three quarters
It’s still tied, but the Seahawks have the ball in Tennessee territory thanks to a Chris Johnson fumble. Will Herring caused the fumble and Deon Grant recovered. It was just the third fumble of the season in 350 attempts for Johnson, who now has 28 carries for 112 yards.
Mare FG makes it 13-10
The Seahawks now lead by three with 12:29 left to play, though they may end up kicking themselves for only getting three points off of that turnover. Seattle had first-and-goal from the 2-yard line after a 17-yard Justin Forsett run. And yes, that was Matt Hasselbeck throwing a block down field, taking out Tennessee corner Cortland Finnegan. The Seahawks couldn’t do anything from there, however, and had to settle for a field goal.
Johnson over 2,000
Chris Johnson just became the sixth player in NFL history to rush for 2,000 yards in a season, gaining four yards on his 32nd carry of the day. His 33rd carry only gained one yard, however, and the Titans will have to punt the ball away.
Johnson and his teammates thought he had 2,000 and a lot more four plays earlier when he went 62 yards for what appeared to be a touchdown, but fullback Ahmard Hall was called for a questionable holding penalty, negating the run.
Titans lead 17-13
The Seahawks lost two challenges on that drive, and Tennessee now leads 17-13 with 4:33 remaining. Seattle will also be out of challenges the rest of the way, though anything inside of two minutes has to come from the officials anyway.
Chris Johnson scored from 1-yard out, though the Seahawks didn’t think he did, hence challenge No. 2.
Titans hold on to win
Seattle’s attempt at a game winning drive ended with a Matt Hasselbeck interception, and with that play the Seahawks’ hopes at one last win were gone too.
Seattle finishes 5-11, just one game better than last year’s 4-win season.
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