The Seattle Seahawks are breathing a sigh of relief after beating the Tennessee Titans 30-24 in Week 12 at Nissan Stadium in Nashville.
The Seahawks were favored by multiple scores, but the end result wasn't quite that. The Seahawks were up 23-3 at one point, but the Titans outscored them 21-7 from that point on. Despite that, Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald isn't concerned.
"Our guys were playing really hard there at the end, and I thought we showed a lot of maturity," Macdonald said postgame. "Working through all the things and how the game went, you would have liked for us to be able to close the game out earlier, but they were fighting hard and they played hard, and they returned a kick for a touchdown.
"Our guys showed a lot of resilience, just keeping playing. The last drive, we were also playing the clock knowing they were going to be in an onside kick situation, so didn't give up a big play there, which is a positive. Obviously would have liked to close the game out earlier, but I'll tell you what, our guys fought really hard, played hard."
Tennessee Titans running back Tony Pollard runs the ball during the fourth quarter against the Seattle Seahawks
Tennessee Titans running back Tony Pollard runs the ball during the fourth quarter against the Seattle Seahawks. | Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Seahawks pull out close win
The Seahawks wanted to make a statement after losing to the Los Angeles Rams the week prior, but they didn't quite do that against the Titans. Even though it wasn't their best showing, Macdonald believes the Titans are still a tough opponent and the Seahawks played well against them.
"We had a good week of preparation. Look, you don't play teams' records in this league. Teams are too talented. This team is a talented team that is coached well, and they played hard. They've had a lot of one-score games that haven't gone their way, and today is another one, so hats off to them," Macdonald said.
At the end of the day, the Seahawks are still in the win column and they accomplished their goal. Winning by one point or 100 points counts the same in the NFL and a win against the worst team in the league is just as valuable as a win against the best.
The Seahawks will take the good, bad and ugly and learn from it all before playing the Minnesota Vikings at home in Week 13.
Tennessee Titans wide receiver Van Jefferson catches and runs in front of Seattle Seahawks cornerback Josh Jobe
Tennessee Titans wide receiver Van Jefferson catches and runs in front of Seattle Seahawks cornerback Josh Jobe. | Denny Simmons / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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