Sam Darnold and the Seahawks look to rebound against struggling Titans

Seattle (7-3) at Tennessee (1-9)

Sunday, 1 p.m. EST, FOX.

BetMGM NFL odds: Seahawks by 13 1/2.

Against the spread: Seahawks 8-2, Titans 4-6.

Series record: Seahawks lead 11-8.

Last meeting: Seahawks beat the Titans 23-20 on Dec. 24, 2023, in Nashville.

Last week: Seahawks lost at Rams 21-19, Titans lost 16-13 to Texans.

Seahawks offense: overall (6), rush (14), pass (4), scoring (5).

Seahawks defense: overall (9), rush (6), pass (14), scoring (6).

Titans offense: overall (32), rush (32), pass (30), scoring (32).

Titans defense: overall (24), rush (26), pass (18), scoring (T-29).

Turnover differential: Seahawks minus-7; Titans minus-4.

Seahawks player to watch

RB Kenneth Walker III. The Seahawks’ run game is on the right path, topping 100 yards rushing in three of Seattle’s past four games. Considering Walker has rushed for 67 yards in back-to-back weeks and Tennessee’s season-long woes stopping the run, he could be in line for his first 100-yard game since Week 2 against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Titans player to watch

QB Cam Ward. The No. 1 overall pick has 12 turnovers this season with six interceptions and six fumbles lost. He also had possibly his best drive late last week, driving the Titans 95 yards over 11 plays for a tying touchdown. He threw for 194 yards with a TD and ran for a team-high 33 yards. He leads all rookie quarterbacks with 1,954 yards passing.

Key matchup

The Seahawks’ pass rush, which has the fourth-most sacks in the NFL, failed to generate a sack last week against the Rams. Expect that to change against the Tennessee Titans, as Ward has been sacked a whopping 41 times this season.

Key injuries

Seahawks: G Grey Zabel (knee) is day to day, per coach Mike Macdonald, and did not practice Wednesday. WR Tory Horton (Groin) and LB Tyrice Knight (concussion) also did not practice. Macdonald is optimistic S Julian Love (hamstring) and TE Eric Saubert (calf) will return to practice next month when they are each eligible to be activated from injured reserve.

Titans: Rookie WR Elic Ayomanor is dealing with a hamstring. CB Darrell Baker Jr. (knee), S Kendall Brooks (concussion protocol) and S Xavier Woods (hamstring) did not practice Wednesday.

Series notes

This will be Seattle’s fourth regular-season game in Nashville. The Titans have won three of the past five between these teams, but Seattle leads the overall series 11-8 thanks to five straight victories and seven in eight starting in the late 1980s to 2005. The Seahawks are 4-5 in road games in this series.

Stats and stuff

The Seahawks are 7-3 for the first time since 2020. Seattle went 10-7 last season and hasn’t had a losing season since 2021 under Pete Carroll … The Seahawks are 3-0 against AFC foes this season, including 2-0 on the road… Sam Darnold threw four interceptions in a game last week for the first time since Oct. 21, 2019, for the Jets against New England. … Wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who led the Seahawks in yards receiving in 2024, leads in the NFL in that category this season. His 1,146 yards are 238 more than Ja’Marr Chase, the NFL’s second-leading receiver. … Linebacker Ernest Jones IV has a career-high three interceptions this season, tied for fifth most in the NFL. … The Seahawks have 32 sacks, tied for fourth in the NFL, while the offense has allowed just 10. … Seahawks K Jason Myers went 4 for 5 on field-goal attempts in Seattle’s most recent game. Myers’ lone miss came on a 61-yard attempt as time expired. … Ward has a TD pass in four of his past five games for the Titans. … RB Tyjae Spears had a season-high five catches last week. … TE Chig Okonkwo led the Titans with three catches for 56 yards last week. … WR Van Jefferson had his first TD catch this season last week. … WR Elic Ayomanor is one of five NFL rookies this season with two or more catches in at least 10 straight games to start his career. … LB Cedric Gray has 10 or more tackles in six games this season, tied for most in the NFL. Gray ranks third with 98 tackles overall. … LB Cody Barton had a sack last week and is one of four LBs with three interceptions this season. … LB Arden Key had 1 1/2 sacks last week.

Fantasy tip

Seahawks TE AJ Barner has had an up and down first season as Seattle’s primary tight end, but is coming off his finest game this season. Considering Darnold’s struggles passing downfield against the Rams, expect him to once again turn to Barner, who had 10 catches for 70 yards last week.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl