Rebounding from a sluggish start on offense and continuing a stellar preseason on defense thus far, the Seattle Seahawks used a 23-yard Easop Winston Jr. touchdown catch to take a 12-7 lead over the Tennessee Titans heading into halftime.
Making smart decisions with the football and showing off his mobility and arm talent in the first two quarters with inconsistent line play in front of him, quarterback Sam Howell completed 11 out of 14 passes for 153 yards, capping off Seattle's lone touchdown drive by dropping a beauty to Winston right on the receiver's hands on a fade route. Setting up that touchdown throw, he extended the drive by evading multiple rushers to step up in the pocket and find tight end AJ Barner for a 16-yard catch on 3rd and 3.
Howell later added a 33-yard completion to receiver Cody White, which helped engineer a a 10-play, 78-yard drive in the second quarter that netted 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 a pair of first down throws to Winston and tight end Brady Russell at the end of the half to set Myers up for a 48-yard field goal to go into the half up five.
Helping fuel the Seahawks touchdown drive, running back Kenny McIntosh ripped off 12 and 11-yard runs on consecutive plays, using strong blocks from center Olu Oluwatimi and guard Anthony Bradford to accelerate to the second level on the first rush and cutting back behind a quality wham block by tight end Tyler Mabry on the second rush. He finished the half with seven rushes for 46 yards and also tacked on a 10-yard catch for a first down.
Picking up where they left off a week ago in the preseason opener against the Chargers, coach Mike Macdonald's defense continued to wreak havoc thanks to an active pass rush up front led by Derick Hall. The second-year outside linebacker out of Auburn got off to a fast start with a tackle for loss and a sack on the game's opening series to force the Titans to punt after a three-and-out and later added another pressure in a dominant first half.
Aside from Hall, Boye Mafe also made his presence felt starting at the other edge position for Seattle, generating a trio of pressures, including twice forcing Tennessee quarterback Malik Willis to flee the pocket before throwing third down incompletions. Overall, the Titans converted just two out of six third downs and moved the chains seven times for first downs in the half, but they did finish on a strong note with Mason Rudolph hitting Nick Westbrook-Ikhine on a slant for a 15-yard score after he beat rookie cornerback D.J. James on a slant.
On special teams, while Myers clanked an extra point off the upright after Winston's touchdown catch, rookie cornerback Dee Williams opened the game with an excellent 41-yard kick return behind a bruising lead block from Laviska Shenault, making it two straight games where Seattle has had a 40-plus yard return in the preseason with the new rules in place.
