Despite taking the lead into the fourth quarter, the Titans just did not have enough offense to get it done as the Seattle Seahawks showed why they are the NFC’s best team by escaping the Coliseum with a hard-fought 28-24 win in their first visit to Nashville. Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck’s two-yard touchdown pass to receiver Darrell Jackson midway through the final quarter proved to be the difference in the contest.

The Titans had a chance to take the lead in the fourth quarter but could not convert on fourth down with just over five minutes on the clock. The Seahawks ran out the clock after regaining possession by gaining first downs on the ground.

Tennessee Head Coach Jeff Fisher talked after the game about where his team came up short.

‘’Obviously, the number one goal is to win the game and we didn’t do that,’’ Fisher said. ‘’But there were a number of things we identified that had to take place. We wanted to protect the quarterback and we did not give up a sack. They had 45 sacks going into this ballgame. Secondly, we had to score some points and we did that. Third, we had to make a big play on special teams and we did that. The thing we didn’t do is get a turnover, and that is the difference in the ballgame.’’

All-Pro running back Shawn Alexander, the NFL’s rushing leader, rushed 26 times for 172 yards, one yard shy of his season-high, and a touchdown. The Seahawks out-rushed Tennessee (183 to 81) using their powerful running game to hold onto the ball longer then the Titans (30:24 to 29:36).

Seattle did not solely depend on the running game. Hasselbeck totaled 285 yards on 21 of 27 passes and three touchdowns. Jackson caught six passes for 72 yards and a score, while receiver Bobby Engram hauled in six balls for 95 yards. Tight end Jerramy Stevens had four receptions for 53 yards and a touchdown, and receiver Joe Jurevicius added 31 yards receiving on three catches and a score.

Tennessee quarterback Steve McNair, who went over 3,000 passing yards for the fifth time in his career, completed 23 of 38 passes for 310 yards and two touchdowns to Drew Bennett in the losing effort. Bennett finished the game with eight catches for 93 yards. Tight end Ben Troupe hauled in six passes for a career-high 116 yards. Receiver Courtney Roby added three catches for 54 yards. Running back Chris Brown ran 20 times for 56 yards, while Jarrett Payton added nine yards rushing on three attempts and his second career touchdown.

Tennessee kicked off to the Seahawks to start the game Sunday at the Coliseum.

After Hasselbeck hit Jackson for 15 yards on first down, Alexander ran three times for 18 yards to gat the Seahawks to the Tennessee 37-yard line on third down. Hasselbeck would find running back Maurice Morris on a screen pass for 14 yards and a first down. Two plays later, Hasselbeck hit Stevens for a 22-yard touchdown pass and kicker Josh Brown nailed the extra point to give Seattle a 7-0 lead with 11:35 remaining in the first quarter.

The Titans were able to gain a single first down on their ensuing drive before punting back to the Seahawks.

Seattle would move the ball to their own 35-yard line after a Stevens six-yard reception and an eight-yard run by Alexander. The Seahawks would get in scoring position on the next play when Alexander took the hand-off and raced 52 yards to the Tennessee 13-yard line. Three plays later, Alexander would take it in the endzone from a yard out and Brown would convert the point after to increase the Seattle lead to 14-0 with 5:54 left in the first quarter.

The Titans would suffer a penalty on first down on their next drive and then punt back to the Seahawks after going three-and-out.

Seattle would get the ball back and end the quarter driving from the Tennessee 25-yard line.

After a defensive offside penalty on Tennessee started the second quarter, Seattle would not gain a first down and would settle for a Brown 36-yard field goal attempt. The attempt would fail when Titans defensive end Antwan Odom blocked the kick and defensive tackle Randy Starks recovered the ball at the Tennessee 16-yard line.

Brown rushed for 16 yards to the 32-yard line on the ensuing drive’s first two plays. Three plays later, the Titans faced third down and twelve from the 30-yard line when McNair hit Bennett for 15 yards and a first down. McNair would complete three passes for 39 yards from there to help Tennessee get to the Seattle three-yard line. Payton ran it into the endzone from there and kicker Rob Bironas added the point after to cut Seattle’s lead to 14-7 with 6:05 left in the first half.

The Seahawks would get a first down on their next possession before the Tennessee defense held and Seattle would punt.

The Titans got the ball back and drove 11 yards to their own 27-yard line on second down. A McNair 16-yard pass to Troupe and a personal foul on the Seahawks put Tennessee at the Seattle 42-yard line on first down. McNair would complete three passes for 27 yards and rush for 11 more to get the Titans to the four-yard line. McNair hit Bennett in the middle of the endzone from there and Bironas evened the score at 14-14 after nailing his extra point with only four seconds left on the second quarter clock.

The Seahawks would receive the kickoff and take a knee to end the first half with the score tied at 14-14.

Seattle kicked off to Tennessee to start the second half.

After starting the drive at their own 22-yard line, the Titans moved the ball downfield to the Seattle 15-yard line on the strength of three McNair completions, two of which went to Troupe for 45 yards. Brown ran around the left end for one yard on the next play to the 14-yard line. On the next play, McNair hooked up with Bennett in the back of the endzone for his second score of the day. Bironas converted the point after to give Tennessee a 21-14 lead with 10:55 left on the third quarter clock.

The Seahawks gained two straight first downs on their ensuing drive but would not recover from a Travis LaBoy sack of Hasselbeck for a nine-yard loss on second down. Seattle’s Tom Rouen would punt to the Tennessee endzone.

Tennessee would start the ensuing drive at their own 20-yard line. After no gain on first down, McNair found Bennett for 21 yards down the sideline and then hit Troupe over the secondary for 35 yards to get to the Seattle 24-yard line. Brown ran for four more yards before Tennessee settled for a Bironas 38-yard field goal to increase their lead to 24-14 with 6:14 remaining in the third quarter.

The Seahawks retained possession at their own 17-yard line looking to strike fast. They did just that as Hasselbeck hit Engram on a slant that went for 56 yards on first down. Hasselbeck kept it going on the next play when he found Jackson for 23 yards to the Tennessee four-yard line. Hasselbeck connected with Jurevicius for the touchdown from there and Brown nailed the point after to cut the lead to 24-21 with 4:51 on the clock.

The Titans would drive to their own 37-yard line where they faced fourth down and two. Tennessee lined up in punt formation but Craig Hentrich took the snap and fired the ball to safety Donnie Nickey on the sideline. Nickey took the ball 26 yards to the Seattle 37-yard line for a first down. After an offensive pass interference penalty pushed the Titans back to second down and 20, McNair found Roby for 32 yards down to the Seattle 15-yard line. Tennessee drove to the Seattle six-yard line, where they faced fourth down and one as the quarter ended. After taking the timeout between quarters to think about it, the Titans went for the first down but did not get it as Brown was stuffed on the run around the right end.

Seattle used the momentum from their defensive stand to come up with a time-consuming offensive drive to the Tennessee two-yard line. The Seahawks took the lead for good on third down when Hasselbeck hit Jackson for the two-yard score and Brown converted the extra point to make it 28-24 at the 8:59 mark of the fourth quarter. The highlight of the drive, which lasted nearly six minutes, came on Alexander’s 33-yard run to the 15-yard line.

Tennessee got the ball back at their own 35-yard line and started the drive with a first down. The Titans converted a crucial fourth down and one from the Seattle 44-yard line with a McNair keeper for two yards. Tennessee would get eight more yards on the drive before facing another fourth and two. A McNair pass would fall incomplete and the Seahawks took over possession.

The Titans had no timeouts leaving Seattle to maintain possession in order to get the win with only 5:03 left in the game. The Seahawks did just that, sealing the victory with Alexander’s first down run with 2:28 left. Hasselbeck would kneel on it from there and Seattle got the 28-24 win.

Tennessee nickelback Andre Woolfolk left the game with an ankle injury, while Brown suffered a shoulder injury.

The Seahawks move to 12-2 with the win and earn a first round bye in the playoffs. Seattle returns home to face Indianapolis next week in what could be a Super Bowl preview. Tennessee falls to 4-10 and will travel to Miami to take on the Dolphins next week. Kickoff from Dolphins Stadium is set for 12p (cst) with Titans Radio coverage slated to begin at 11a (cst).