New head coaches are eager to win, even in preseason games that don’t count toward the regular season starting in September. Winning with a last-second play? Even better.
Brayden Narveson kicked his third field goal as time ran out, leading the Tennessee Titans to a comeback win over the Seattle Seahawks, 16-15, in an exhibition game on Saturday night.
“To win with a walk-off field goal and get into position was amazing,” Titans coach Brian Callahan said. “And then Narveson hitting from 59 yards was something I didn’t expect today. That was really cool to see.”
Callahan praised special teams coordinator Colt Anderson for suggesting that Narveson, a rookie from North Carolina State, try the 59-yard field goal with 7:53 left. Narveson is at camp to help lighten veteran Nick Folk’s workload and made field goals of 21, 59, and 46 yards in the fourth quarter.
“That’s a tough kick in the NFL,” Callahan said about the 59-yarder. “It’s great for him to have on tape. Really cool to see.”
The Titans signed Folk, who turns 40 in November, to a new contract in March after he led the NFL in 2023 with a career-best 96.7% kicking accuracy.
Someone got the ball used for both the 59-yarder and the game-winning kick for Narveson, who mentioned he can make kicks longer than 59 yards.
“This was probably the coolest,” Narveson said about his game-winning kick. The final kick ended a nine-play drive with Mason Rudolph showing why he deserves the backup quarterback job for Tennessee.
Jason Myers made his third field goal, a 50-yarder, to give the Seahawks a 15-13 lead with 1:55 left, as they looked to turn safety Ty Okada’s late interception into a win.
“We put ourselves in a position to win the game,” said Seattle’s first-year coach Mike Macdonald. “Ty made a great play. We took the ball, Jason made a great kick, but we couldn’t finish it off.”
Callahan started Malik Willis, a third-round pick from Liberty in 2022, to see what he could do with backup players. Willis’s best drive took 14 plays and 9:23, setting up Narveson’s first field goal early in the fourth quarter, bringing Tennessee within 12-10.
Rudolph didn’t need to start to prove he’s a better backup quarterback for the Titans. He drove the team 78 yards in 10 plays on one drive and found Nick Westbrook-Ikhine for a 15-yard TD pass, closing the gap to 9-7.
Rudolph also set up Narveson’s 59-yard field goal, giving the Titans their first lead of the game at 13-12 midway through the fourth quarter.
Sam Howell started and played the first half for the Seahawks, making a strong case to be the backup for Geno Smith with his best performance yet in a game mostly featuring backups.
Howell was 11 of 14 for 153 yards and a touchdown pass, with a 136 passer rating and a 12-7 lead when he left the game at halftime.
Howell quickly moved the Seahawks downfield to set up Myers for his second field goal, a 48-yarder, giving them a 12-7 lead at halftime. Howell rated his performance as “pretty solid,” though he wished he had scored more points.
