The Seahawks pride themselves in finishing, but weren't able to get the job done on Sunday in what ended up being a 33-30 overtime loss to the Tennessee Titans. Seattle led by 15 at halftime, and by 14 early in the third quarter, but the Titans battled back with two fourth-quarter touchdown drives to send the game to overtime.
In the extra period, the teams traded punts before the Titans got into field-goal range, setting up the 36-yard game-winning kick.
Here are six rapid reactions to Sunday's loss, which dropped Seattle to 1-1:
1. The noise was back.
Just before Seahawks players took the field, a loud "Sea-Hawks!" echoed throughout Lumen Field, a sound that prior to last year might have seemed routine, but that on Sunday was goosebump inducing. Prior to Sunday, it had been more than 20 months since fans filled this building for a meaningful football game, and for four quarters those fans brought the noise.
The noise created by the 68,585 in attendance reached perhaps its highest level at what was up to that point one of the biggest moment of the game when Tennessee, trailing 30-23, went for it on fourth-and-2 late in the fourth quarter. With the noise at stadium-rattling levels, the Seahawks defense got a stop thanks to pressure by Kerry Hyder Jr., then later Rasheem Green, who both hit Ryan Tannehill to force an incomplete pass.
The Seahawks did their best in 2020 to, as Pete Carroll often described it, create their own juice, but all of the noise and energy the fans brought Sunday was missed, and it while it wasn't rewarded with a win on Sunday, it was great to have back nonetheless.
2. Tyler Lockett is ridiculous.
A week after Tyler Lockett led the Seahawks with 100 receiving yards and two touchdowns on just four catches, the veteran receiver was even better against the Titans, catching eight passes for a game-high 178 yards, including a 51-yard catch that set up Seattle's first score, and a 63-yard touchdown later in the first half.
Lockett, who last season set a franchise record with 100 receptions, is off to a ridiculous start through two games with 278 receiving yards and three touchdowns on 12 catches.
3. Derrick Henry was a problem.
The Seahawks knew they were going to have their hands full with Derrick Henry, who last season rushed for 2,027 yards and 17 touchdowns on his way to NFL Offensive Player of the Year honors, and for a half at least, Seattle's defense did a great job defending the All-Pro back, holding Henry to 35 yards on 13 carries with a long of only 8 yards, and one catch for 15 yards.
Keeping a player like Henry in check for an entire game, however, is a different story, and Henry had a huge second half and overtime to finish with 182 yards and three touchdowns, as well as 55 receiving yards on six catches. Henry's biggest play was a 60-yard run in the fourth quarter that got the Titans right back into the game following a 68-yard touchdown catch by Freddie Swain.
4. Alton Robinson keeps taking advantage of his opportunities.
Thanks to a deep defensive line rotation, Alton Robinson hasn't gotten a ton of playing time through two games, but the second-year defensive end has been really effective when he has been on the field. That was never more evident than his second-quarter sack of Ryan Tannehill that forced a fumble, which was recovered by Kerry Hyder Jr. at Tennessee's 6-yard line.
The Seahawks turned that turnover into a touchdown, with Chris Carson scoring one of his two first-half touchdowns.
5. Bobby Wagner is a tackling machine.
After Bobby Wagner recorded a team-high 13 tackles last week, Carroll joked that it wasn't a big deal because it's just what Wagner does on a weekly basis. Sure enough, Wagner had a massively productive game again, topping his output from a week earlier with a career-high 20 tackles, a sack and two quarterback hits. The 20 tackles sets a franchise record, previously held by Wagner after racking up 19 tackles vs. the New Orleans Saints on September 22, 2019.
With 33 tackles through two games, the future Hall of Fame linebacker is showing he's still one of the best in the business in Year 10.
6. Penalties were an issue.
In some games, the Seahawks overcome their penalties and they're not a big deal, but on Sunday the Seahawks weren't just penalized often—they had 10 for 100 yards—some of them were also very costly. Most notably, the Seahawks had two defensive penalties, a late hit out of bounds and a defensive hold, on Tennessee's first touchdown drive of the game, and they also had several other costly penalties that either killed drives on offense or helped extend them for the Titans.
