The defending champion Seahawks barely escaped with a victory and the Rams, a preseason favorite to win the Super Bowl, were routed in their prime time openers.
The first week of the season is often unpredictable because the league has done away with two-a-days in training camp and the starters don’t play much much in the preseason. But nobody expected the Seahawks to barely edge the Patriots, 13-10, after dominating them in the Super Bowl last February, and the 49ers weren’t expected to rout the Rams, 27-7. This raised questions about whether the Seahawks and Rams may not be as good as advertised or whether this was just a first game that will be meaningless in the long run.
The Seahawks did lose quarterback Sam Darnold with a hip injury on the first series, although Drew Lock was an adequate replacement. Darnold may miss only one game. But it was the sloppy play that was concerning. Seattle lost one touchdown to an illegal shift, lost possibly another to a delay penalty, kept a Patriots drive alive by pushing a player out of bounds on third down, and handed the Patriots a field goal with a roughing-the-kicker penalty.
But the Seahawks survived because New England lost receiver A.J. Brown with a high ankle sprain and did nothing after he left, plus Drake Maye threw a costly interception on each of the Patriots’ last three possessions. It remains to be seen if the Seahawks will start playing like a team trying to repeat going forward. They have to stop making bad mistakes.
Meanwhile, the Rams also didn’t look like the team they are supposed to be. It didn’t help that Los Angeles waited until the day before the game to arrive in Australia, while the 49ers arrived a week early to adjust to the time zone.
Rams coach Sean McVay said timing of his team’s arrival wasn’t a factor in their loss, but it certainly didn’t help. Other factors were that quarterback Matthew Stafford didn’t play well and was stopped at the goal line on a quarterback sneak in the second half, then the deflated Rams gave up a 99-yard touchdown drive.
The quarterback sneak probably wasn’t the best play call by McVay. Even worse was that Myles Garrett was shut out in his debut (no tackles, sacks or pressures). He admitted he still is recovering was a knee injury and said it wasn’t the best version of himself. The Rams were supposed to be a Super Bowl favorite because of the trade for Garrett and Aaron Donald coming out of retirement after a two year absence. But Donald didn’t play. If Garrett and Donald aren’t both dominant, the Rams have problems.
The disappointing openings by the Seahawks and Rams could have a lot of ramifications if they don’t live up to expectations. Both teams have a lot of prime-time games, and it won’t help the TV ratings if they aren’t prime-time teams.
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