Big plays doom Seattle defense

Sep 26, 2017 - 1:16 AM The Seattle Seahawks' defense is not a group usually prone to giving up big plays.

But on Sunday in Tennessee, the Seahawks gave up two touchdowns of 50-plus yards to the Titans. Rishard Matthews took a wide receiver screen for a 55-yard touchdown while running back DeMarco Murray sprung free for a 75-yard score weaving through the Seattle defense.

After Carlos Hyde broke free for 61-yard and 27-yard runs last week for the 49ers, the Titans gashed the Seahawks for 195 yards.

Murray's 75-yard touchdown romp in the third quarter was the longest rushing touchdown allowed by a Seattle defense in the Pete Carroll era. Andre Ellington had a 48-yard touchdown for the Arizona Cardinals in 2015, which was the previous mark.

"The thread is we've made totally unique, different mistakes, but we've made a couple big mistakes and they've really cost us," Carroll said. "Really fine running backs have been able to take advantage of it and really maximize them.

"We made an error and we misread a formation and didn't hit it just right on the run play and the ball got out."

It's just the third time in the Carroll era that the Seahawks have allowed back-to-back 100-yard rushing games to an opposing running back. Zac Stacy of the St. Louis Rams (134) and Mike James of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (158) did so in Week 8-9 of the 2013 season.

David Johnson of the Arizona Cardinals (113) and Tim Hightower of the New Orleans Saints (102) did so in Week 7-8 last year, and now Hyde and Murray with their showings the last two weeks.

"We're concerned that we don't want that to happen anymore," Carroll said. "We want to get rid of that. We played such a perfect first half of run fits and then it was just a couple of similar plays in the second half that we didn't hit right, different looks from the defensive side."

The Seahawks had held the Titans to 30 yards on 17 carries in the first half, but after the break Tennessee managed to find running room.

"It fell apart with a couple runs," Carroll said.

The Seahawks rank 30th in the league in rushing defense with one game remaining in Week 3.