NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Both Sam Darnold and the Seattle Seahawks bounced back quite nicely from their first road loss this season.
Darnold threw for 244 yards and two touchdowns , and the Seahawks beat the Tennessee Titans 30-24 Sunday for their fifth win in six games.
The quarterback, picked off four times in last week’s loss to the Rams, put the Seahawks ahead to stay with a 63-yard TD pass to Jaxon Smith-Njigba in the second quarter.
“He was a spark for us,” Seattle coach Mike Macdonald said of Darnold. “The big touchdown to Jax, to see his emotion and his excitement I thought really got the team going, which is something that we needed. Like we said, same guy. Just ripped it, did a great job.”
The Seahawks (8-3) also improved to 5-1 on the road and made sure to hold onto the first wild-card spot in the NFC playoff chase.
Darnold wasn’t happy the Seahawks had to settle for a trio of field goals from Jason Myers in taking a 16-3 lead.
“We were able to move the ball up and down the field, and we’ve just got to finish when we’re in the red zone,” Darnold said.
Seattle, tied for the fourth-most sacks in the NFL, added four more against the NFL’s most-sacked quarterback in Titans rookie Cam Ward. Linebacker Derick Hall sacked Ward for the fourth one with the Titans at the Seattle 21, helping the Seahawks force a turnover on downs two plays later with 6:11 left.
Ward tried once more to rally the Titans. He found Chimere Dike with a 1-yard TD pass with 43 seconds left, giving the NFL’s worst-scoring team a season high in points and one final chance.
But linebacker Dorian Mausi touched the onside kick before the ball traveled 10 yards, and Seattle finished off the win.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba, the NFL’s leader in yards receiving, finished with eight catches for a season-high 167 yards with two TDs and a game ball. He set Seattle’s single-season receiving yards mark through just 11 games with 1,313 yards, topping DK Metcalf’s 1,303 yards in 2020.
“It means a lot,” Smith-Njigba said. “This is a great organization, and great receivers have come through here. Honestly, I look at it as a team award, because, without Sam, without the protection, without Sheed (Rashid Shaheed) and Coop (Cooper Kupp), this doesn’t happen.”
The Titans (1-10) lost their sixth straight overall and 10th consecutive at home where their most recent win was Nov. 3, 2024.
“We’ve each got to be more consistent because these guys fought their tails off once again up until the very end,” Titans interim coach Mike McCoy said. “But got to be more consistent throughout a game.”
Ward finished with 256 yards passing and his first rushing TD late in the third quarter.
After trailing 3-0, Seattle scored 23 consecutive points, capped by the Seahawks opening the second half with Darnold finding Smith-Njigba for a 56-yard completion before hitting him again for a 13-yard TD and a 23-3 lead.
The Seahawks led 30-10 after a 6-yard TD run by Zach Charbonnet with 6:40 left.
Tennessee finally forced Seattle to punt for the first time early in the third quarter. Dike, the NFL’s leader in all-purpose yards, took the punt 90 yards up the Seahawks’ sideline for the TD. That’s his second this season.
Exclusive history
Smith-Njigba, who had 86 yards receiving by halftime, had his 11th straight game with at least 75 yards receiving this season. He now trails only Pro Football Hall of Famer Marvin Harrison (14 in 2002) and Kupp (13 in 2001) for most such games in a single season in NFL history.
Injuries
Seattle LB Chazz Surratt didn’t return after hurting an ankle on the Seahawks’ first kickoff return. RB George Holani hurt a hamstring in the first half and didn’t return. S Ty Okada hurt an oblique muscle and was ruled out for the second half.
Titans LT Dan Moore Jr. hurt a knee and was replaced by Olisaemeka Udoh. DT Shy Tuttle went to the locker room in the concussion protocol. C Lloyd Cushenberry hurt a foot late. McCoy said all three were having further evaluations.
Up next
The Seahawks host Minnesota on Nov. 30.
The Titans wrap up a four-game homestand against Jacksonville on Nov. 30.
