Seahawks @ Titans Week 16 Game Preview

Seattle Seahawks @ Tennessee Titans

The Seahawks delivered a comeback for the ages on Monday Night Football with a last-minute TD to Jaxon Smith-Njigba, allowing them to take down Philadelphia and keep Pete Carroll’s undefeated record against the Eagles intact. 

That win kept Seattle firmly in the playoff mix, and they have another winnable game this week on the road in Tennessee. The Titans are coming off of a disappointing loss in overtime to the Texans, who were without C.J. Stroud in that game. 

Seattle should get Geno Smith back this week, and they are favored by 2.5 points on the road as a result. The Titans have been very volatile from week to week, as evidenced by their impressive win over Miami two weeks ago, followed by losing at home to the Case Keenum-led Texans. 

Since Levis took over in Week 8, the Titans offense has been middle of the pack for both rushing and passing efficiency but has shown flashes of upside, such as the 4 passing TDs in his debut or the 327 passing yards he dropped on Miami in Week 14.

One key thing I’ll be looking for in this game is whether the Titans shift to giving Tyjae Spears a larger role in the last few games now that they are eliminated from playoff contention and Derrick Henry is slated to be a free agent after this season. This puts fantasy managers in a tough spot on whether or not they can trust Henry this week.

For now, Henry still ranks as the RB13 in the Fantasy Life consensus ranks, but fantasy managers should be paying attention to any information or quotes from the coaching staff that could indicate a change in backfield usage. 

DeAndre Hopkins has seen a 28% target share with a whopping 147 air yards per game since Levis took over as the starting QB but has been up and down in his actual weekly fantasy output. Unfortunately, Levis suffered a high ankle sprain, so the team is expected to start Ryan Tannehill in the event that their rookie QB isn’t available.

Hopkins remains a low-end WR2 in the Week 1 rankings and is the type of player who could win or lose you a matchup. 

The Seahawks' pass defense has been pretty weak this season, so I like taking the upside swing with Hopkins if you have a tough start/sit decision, but be sure to consult the Fantasy Life start/sit tool ahead of kickoff for our most up-to-date recommendations.

On the Seattle side, it was good to see Kenneth Walker looking fully healthy again last week, and he has another opportunity to put up a big performance against a Tennessee defense that is now without one of their top run defenders. 

It’s a bit messier in the WR room where all three of DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, and JSN have seen between 19-22 targets over their last three games. Spreading these targets around may be great for the Seattle offense in real life, but it is a bit of a nightmare for fantasy managers trying to figure out who to start on a weekly basis. 

Metcalf remains ranked the highest for the week, and it is a favorable matchup against a Tennessee defense that has struggled to limit opposing WRs this season. 

At least one of the Seattle WRs should deliver a good game here, and if we’re lucky, it will be one of those weeks where two of them deliver.