The NFC West is already looking upside down, and it took only 24 hours and two games to get there.
Seattle opened the season by surviving New England 13-10, a game that started badly when Sam Darnold went down with a hip injury just five plays in and ended with the Seahawks defense slamming the door on Drake Maye. Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Rams, the preseason favorites to cruise toward the Super Bowl, got flattened by San Francisco in Melbourne. That leaves the division’s projected top three teams all with one game played - and plenty of questions hanging over them.
For Seattle, the headline is still the same one that carried them to the Super Bowl last year: the defense is the real deal. The unit came back with relatively little turnover, and it looked every bit as nasty as it did in February against New England.
The Patriots tried to stress it with a big, mobile quarterback, a tough running back and a more dangerous receiving group. It didn’t matter.
Once Seattle adjusted to Maye’s middle-of-the-field scrambles, New England’s offense ran out of answers.
Then came the finish. The Seahawks picked Maye off three times in the fourth quarter, including the backbreaker in the final 20 seconds after New England had already gotten into position for a tying field goal attempt. That kind of closing speed changes games.
The problem for Seattle is on the other side of the ball, where the pace was ugly. Drew Lock spent plenty of snaps checking the play sheet and working deep into the clock, and the Seahawks were hit with several delay-of-game penalties.
One of them came at a brutal moment: second-and-one from the New England three-yard line, with a chance to push the lead to seven. Instead, the offense got rushed, then settled for a field goal after two more hurried snaps.
If Darnold is out for a while, that partnership between Lock and new offensive coordinator Brian Fleury has to get cleaner fast.
There is at least one encouraging sign for Seattle: first-round running back Jadarian Price. The Seahawks kept the rookie on a short leash, giving him 10 carries for 52 yards while George Holani handled eight carries as the backup.
But Price looked more dangerous with the ball than Holani did, and that workload is going to have to grow. If Darnold misses significant time, Seattle needs Price involved more heavily to give Lock a fighting chance.
The timing of the injury could have been worse. Seattle has a week and a half before facing the rebuilding Arizona Cardinals, which gives the offense some breathing room to sort out the new arrangement under center. The Seahawks do not play another divisional game until October 11 against the 49ers, so by the time the games matter even more, they should have a better handle on the offense - and, ideally, Darnold back.
Elsewhere in the division, the Rams are already in chase mode. San Francisco’s 27-7 win in Melbourne exposed a Los Angeles defense that was supposed to be one of the league’s calling cards, and the Rams now sit behind both of their rivals in the standings.
It’s only one game, and the division picture can still change quickly, especially with the Seahawks and Rams not meeting until Christmas Day and then again two weeks later in the regular-season finale. But for now, the offseason darling has a hole to climb out of.
The travel piece mattered, too. San Francisco got to Australia early to adjust to the time change and settle in.
Los Angeles waited until just before kickoff, trying to handle the massive time difference on the fly. The final score and the way the game played out made the contrast pretty clear: this time, the 49ers had the better plan.
In Other News...
Drake Maye Hit Could Leave Patriots Fans Wanting More After Loss
Drake Maye gave the Patriots a mixed afternoon in Seattle, moving the ball well enough to keep New England in striking range but also giving the Seahawks plenty of help along the way. He completed 23 of 33 passes for 178 yards and a touchdown, yet the three interceptions and three sacks were enough to tilt a tight game that ended 13-10 in Seattles favor.
The sequence that drew the most attention came when Seahawks linebacker Derick Hall was flagged for unnecessary roughness after a late hit on Maye, a play the NFL is now reviewing for possible further punishment. Maye stayed in the game after the hit, and while the Patriots left with another narrow loss, they now have a short week to reset before facing the Pittsburgh Steelers on September 20. [Read more 🡒]
Raiders Keep Targeting Seahawks Talent After Another Seattle Departure
The Raiders interest in former Seahawks talent has not slowed down, and Bryce Cabeldue is the latest name to follow that path. Las Vegas claimed the rookie offensive lineman off waivers after Seattle moved on, adding another player with familiarity to the Seahawks recent roster churn and another piece for a group that has been reshaped under head coach Klint Kubiak, who previously served as Seattles offensive coordinator.
Cabeldue entered the league as a 2025 sixth-round pick and saw action in a small but useful sample last season, logging snaps at multiple spots along the offensive line. For Seattle, his departure is another reminder of how quickly late-round development projects can become roster casualties, while for the Raiders it continues a clear pattern of looking toward familiar Seahawks connections as they build out their depth. [Read more 🡒]
Seahawks Opener Chaos Turned A Tense Win Into Something Else
The NFL season opener at Lumen Field had enough on-field edge already, but the scene in the stands briefly stole the attention away from the Seahawks and Patriots. A dispute over seating escalated when a Patriots fan allegedly would not move from seats belonging to other spectators, and what began as an argument turned into a physical confrontation that drew in ushers, security and police before order was restored.
For a few tense minutes, the football game was secondary to the disruption above it, a reminder of how quickly a night at the stadium can veer off script. The fan was eventually handcuffed, and while the crowd settled back in, the incident lingered as one of the stranger moments of an opener that already had plenty of bite. [Read more 🡒]