The Seattle Seahawks and QB Sam Darnold are coming off a tough loss against a division rival, while the Titans are still in fix-it mode with their rookie quarterback. These teams meet in Week 12, and here are the bold predictions.
With a record of 7-3, the Seahawks are in a good position for a playoff run. But this is a take-care-of-business game against the crumbling Titans, who are 1-9 and headed full speed for a second straight No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft.
Seahawks QB Sam Darnold will have another mirage performance
There’s no pressure. It’s a bad opponent. No ghosts. This is exactly the type of game where Darnold goes bonkers.
Yes, the Rams exposed Darnold. But the Titans are incapable of doing that. And so this week, Darnold doesn’t have to deal with a veteran coach’s opinion about his tendency to panic when the heat gets turned up, according to The Athletic.
“Sam is just going to have that in him for life,” one veteran coach said. “He will play great. He will play good. Then he is going to have those plays. The problem is, when you get established as a playoff team, everyone is scared to death that is going to happen.”
It’s hard not to agree with that opinion when Darnold offers up this type of play, according to a post on X by the Rams.
FOURTH PICK OF THE DAY!
📺 @NFLonFOX | #RamsHouse pic.twitter.com/2FbV0hq8rQ
— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) November 16, 2025
However, look for Darnold to throw for 275-plus yards with three touchdowns. That’s how bad the Titans are this season.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba will post second-highest receiving yardage of season
Smith-Njigba went for 162 yards in the win over the Jaguars. He won’t quite do that again, but look for him to eclipse the 132 yards he punished the Buccaneers with earlier this year.
How good has Smith-Njigba been this year? Some even consider him an MVP candidate. It has never happened. And it's hard to imagine it happening this year. Look at this: His teammate, Cooper Kupp, won the receiving triple crown (receptions, yards, receiving touchdowns) in 2021 and finished third in the voting.
Of course, Darnold will have to do better than he did against the Rams for Smith-Njigba to soar. Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald said Darnold was just trying to make plays when he racked up four picks against the Rams, according to seahawks.com.
“I think the majority of them came late in downs where we just need to get to the next play,” Macdonald said. “And Sam's played in time and in rhythm a lot this year, and he has made a lot of plays for us doing that. And he has also made a lot of plays off-schedule.
“So again, you don't want to take the playmaker out of him. But you also understand when we need to be able to get the next play versus putting the ball in jeopardy down the field. And we will learn from it and we'll grow from it.”
Smith-Njigba will likely find the end zone even if Darnold struggles. But the yardage total will suffer if Darnold can’t keep it together.
Titans QB Cam Ward will continue disturbing trend of multiple sacks
Ward has been sacked at least twice in every game this season. And in seven of the team’s 10 games, he’s taken four or more. This game figures to be more like those seven contests.
The Seahawks didn’t get a sack against the Rams, which will make them hungry to get to Ward.
Somehow, Ward sees progress in his awful rookie season, according to a post on X by Turron Davenport via Sports Illustrated.
“I think just getting the ball to my playmakers is something I've been better at since Week 1,” Ward said of his own self-realized improvement, “then also just continuing to emphasize the little things.
“Whether the stat-sheet says it or the score says it, I just think I know I'm getting better at something every week. I just think the emphasis on doing what the players want to do. Not only from my standpoint, but the receivers, the routes that they're good at running, the offensive line helped them out a lot. So, I think a lot goes into it.”
It should be noted that Ward passed for over 200 yards for four games in a row. Then he totaled 145 and 194 in the last two weeks. However, in his defense, he ended a string of six straight games with an interception. A caveat: He only had 21 passing attempts against the Chargers.
Ward’s six touchdown passes and six interceptions on the season show a wretchedly bad ratio this deep into the season. Fans seem to be growing impatient, and this game likely won't make them any happier.



















