Irony has many faces. It can be playful. It can be thought-provoking. It can be cruel. Each made an appearance on the first Sunday football game of the Seahawks 2026 season. Tennessee Titans defensive tackle, Jeffrey Simmons, loudly boasted about his team’s performance in the joint practice with the Seahawks on Friday. He then got planted in the ground in this game by third string Seahawks guard, Christian Haynes. A Seahawks team that has yet to play its starters, entered this game with questions about its depth, dominated the Titans starters for most of the first half in this game. The cruelty came in watching parts of that depth leave Nashville with major injuries.
Mike Macdonald had to be pleased with how his team responded to both a lifeless loss to the Cowboys last weekend, and a mixed bag at the joint practice on Friday. Coaches used to coordinate how they would handle preseason games in terms of starter snaps and how aggressive they would be in terms of blitzing. That has faded as more teams prioritize joint practices, preseason games are fewer, and cuts happen once instead of three times.
Robert Saleh elected to play his starters on offense and defense for much of the first half. To say the Seahawks played their backups would be inaccurate. Take the edge position. The Seattle starters might be DeMarcus Lawrence and Derick Hall. Their backups would be Uchenna Nwosu and Dante Fowler Jr. None of those four players has played a snap in preseason. That means the Seahawks were running out fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth string edge players against the Titans first string offensive line.
You could say similar things about numerous other positions, including inside linebacker, where Ernest Jones, Drake Thomas, Tyrice Knight, and Patrick O’Connell did not play. Or running back, where Jadarian Price, George Holani, and Emmanuel Wilson did not play.
Judging a team’s performance in that kind of tilted matchup usually requires grading on a curve. You want to see effort and physicality and execution. Ideally, there are a few plays or a few players who flash and demonstrate their ability to go toe-to-toe with an NFL starter.
The Seahawks made it much more simple. They went up 16-3 in the first quarter, notching explosive plays on offense and punishing hits on defense. Drew Lock did not throw in an incompletion until his 11th pass. Running back Jacardia Wright still hasn’t been touched on his 69-yard touchdown run straight through the Titans defense. Chris Paul Jr., D’Anthony Bell, and Chazz Surratt may have just leveled another Titans player.
Finding a player to highlight other than Knight was challenging against the Cowboys. Far more stood out in this one. Paul Jr. had his best game in a Seahawks uniform at inside linebacker. He made a number of plays in the backfield, including a key fourth down stop. Surratt, the other off-ball linebacker, was flying around the field as well.
An edge group that did little to impact the passer last week, showed far more juice in this one. Connor O’Toole was credited with 6 pressures, 1.5 sacks, and 2 tackles for loss. Jamie Sheriff got his first preseason action, and got right back to sackalicious ways. He wound up with the team-best PFF grade of 87.9.
Defensive tackle J.R. Singleton was all over the field, and wound up leading the team in tackles with ten. That is absurd for a defensive lineman.
D’Anthony Bell delivered a number of big hits. Although, he also missed one key tackle. Nehemiah Pritchett had a terrific tackle for loss as he continues to make the case that he should get reps as the third corner.
Rookie corner Michael Dansby was terrific in coverage and physical in run support. Fellow rookie corner, Andre Fuller, had a nice game as well.
Starters had a better showing on the sideline this week as well. There was more to cheer for, and they were making their presence felt.
All the good energy stopped when rookie safety Bud Clark suffered a gruesome ankle injury. An air cast was applied and he was carted off the field. Macdonald confirmed a broken ankle after the game that will keep Clark out “months.” The Seahawks may choose to put him on injured reserve, which would end his season. It might be possible they hold out hope he can return later in the year.
Guard Mason Richman was also lost to what Macdonald called a, “major injury.” He walked off the field under his own power, but never returned to the game. His loss saps depth on the interior offensive line and limits the Seahawks flexibility to trade or release players like Haynes and Olu Oluwatimi. Both played well in this one.
Richman was one of the players who stood out the most in this training camp. He was more stout in pass protection and was showing real potential as a center. Bryce Cabeldue came in and had a very nice game. This also creates more opportunity for rookie Beau Stephens.
The loss in this trip that matters was not on the scoreboard. Three players who were going to be on the 53-man roster were likely lost for the season. None of those players were starters or guys expected to get significant snaps, but each were worthy of a spot on a very good team.
There are a number of options at safety to now keep an eye on. Ty Okada had already cemented his hold on the starting safety spot alongside Julian Love. Clark was often the next safety in the rotation. AJ Finley, Bell, Maxen Hook, and Rodney Thomas III all will be considered for that role now.
Clark had not separated himself in practice to this point. His standing in the depth chart felt as much about his draft status as a second round pick as about his performance. Finley could be the guy who benefits the most, which would be another form of cruel irony. It was Finley who went down for the season last year during the Seahawks Fan Fest at Lumen Field.
He is smart and gifted. The team and coaches like him. Thomas is another one to watch. He is a veteran who was showing signs of starting to adjust to the scheme. He is currently out after surgery on a broken hand, but that is not considered a long-term issue.
The other notable part of this game was the play of Jalen Milroe. He provided plenty of ammunition to those who have already made up their minds about the young quarterback. His two interceptions were bad decisions and bad process. They overshadowed some really nice moments, including a scramble on 2nd and 14 for a first down and a 24-yard completion on 2nd and 20 for a first down to Montorie Foster Jr. He also had a nice bootleg toss to Ricky White for a big gain that got called back for an offensive pass interference.
There were two penalties on his first possession. Two more on his third. Another on his fourth. The run game was nonexistent. It was not ideal conditions. None of that excuses the poor choices he made on the interceptions or taking a sack on 4th down for the second week in a row.
Making good decisions is arguably a more important skill than having a gifted arm for NFL quarterbacks. Milroe has looked very much like a developmental player with a lot of development left before a team could feel comfortable playing him in a game.
He will be written off by fans, which is fine. I do not expect the team to feel the same way. He will sit and learn for another season. The odds of him turning into a starting quality quarterback before the end of his rookie deal are lowering. What many fail to understand is that even if those odds are low, the payoff is too large to give up on him after one season.
Milroe had a very long way to go from the player he was in college and the scheme he played in. He still has a long way to go, even if that distance has closed more than people realize.
It is also too early to be talking about a position switch. The team will exhaust his reps at quarterback before giving up and looking for other ways to use his skills.
Seattle leaves Nashville with the first losing preseason record of Macdonald’s tenure, for as much or as little as that matters. Their play to start the game was encouraging not just because it came against the Titans starters, but because it showed Macdonald, this coaching staff, and these players, can bounce back from such a poor effort in one week. The injuries sting. Seattle plays another game in a few days, going from Sunday to Friday. They will have to travel to Kansas City for that one, leaving them with an even shorter week of practice.
They are seven days away from making cuts to their 53-man roster. Much is left to be decided. This game was one the team can build on.