Amid Weighty Expectations, Seahawks Write Season-Opening Disasterpiece

Unable to build off a solid first half, the hype train flew off the rails as the Seattle Seahawks imploded in all phases during a brutal 30-13 blowout loss to the Los Angeles Rams, creating major questions just one game into a new season.

SEATTLE, Wash. - Trailing by 14 with under five minutes left to play, Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith hooked up with Colby Parkinson for an eight-yard gain on first down, somehow the longest play the team had produced since halftime.

But instead of facing 2nd and 2 with a quality chance to pick up their first first down of the half without being aided by a penalty and maybe, just maybe, get a semblance of a drive going, DK Metcalf let Rams coach Sean McVay get under his skin. After making a hard block on cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon, who took issue with the legality of the block, the star receiver barked at the opposing sideline, drawing a killer taunting penalty from the officiating crew.

In a sequence of events that perfectly summed up one of the most dreadful halves of football played by the Seahawks in 14 years under Pete Carroll, Metcalf's penalty knocked the team back 15 yards. Not even having enough time to blink after the snap behind an injury ravaged offensive line, Smith took quick sacks each of the next two plays, all but sealing an atrocious 30-13 season opening disasterpiece lacking effort, execution, and much to the chagrin of Carroll, discipline.

"I thought we lost our minds a little bit, and we'll talk about that. That shows you the frustration and based on the expectation that we were going to be better and not in that situation," Carroll told reporters after the game. "I don't like seeing this look, that looks terrible. We'll talk about that... We were in that position and we've got to make better decisions."

For a half on Sunday, even after briefly falling behind after Matthew Stafford orchestrated a 16-play touchdown drive in the first quarter, the Seahawks looked to be in command in their home opener. Smith played sharp football out of the gate and Ken Walker III rushed for 53 yards on just nine carries, leading the team to three straight scoring drives to start the game and build a 13-7 halftime advantage.

But everything started to unravel late in the second quarter, starting with Seattle's inability to capitalize on a blocked field goal by defensive tackle Jarran Reed.

On the ensuing possession, despite starting with excellent field position at the opposing 42-yard line after cornerback Mike Jackson recovered the blocked kick and picking up a first down on a 14-yard catch by DeeJay Dallas, the Seahawks weren't able to advance the ball into the red zone. After Smith was forced to throw the ball into the turf with quick third down pressure, kicker Jason Myers clanked a 39-yard field goal off the right uprights, leaving the team empty handed.

Still up six points at the time, the missed field goal attempt by itself didn't lead to Seattle's second half meltdown. But it was the snowball that ultimately rolled downhill and turned into an avalanche as injuries and miscues piled up with Los Angeles reeling off 23 unanswered second half points to silence a stunned Lumen Field crowd.

Defensively, the Seahawks had shown cracks in the first half, allowing the Rams to convert on all five of their third downs on their opening touchdown drive and move the chains on six out of eight opportunities in the first two quarters. Struggling to get off the field thanks to the precision of Stafford, who carved coordinator Clint Hurtt's defense primarily attacking the middle of the field with no pass rush to make him uncomfortable, those issues led to their undoing in the second half.

Again converting on a pair of third down conversions, including a 44-yard bomb from Stafford to speedy receiver Tutu Atwell, Los Angeles went on a 10-play, 76-yard scoring drive punctuated by a powerful seven-yard touchdown run by reserve running back Kyren Williams to retake the lead. The score could have happened earlier too, as Seattle lucked out when receiver Van Jefferson couldn't snag a deep ball after he came wide open with a flat-footed Quandre Diggs late to react in coverage.

In total, the Rams continued their drive on nine of their first 12 third down opportunities and finished with 11 third down conversions for the game, nine more than the Seahawks generated on offense. This led to an ugly 19 minute time of possession and 32 play disparity with the visitors seemingly on offense the entire second half as if it was a controlled practice.

“We just need to execute," linebacker Bobby Wagner bluntly said, adding that he was surprised Seattle struggled so mightily on third down after placing an emphasis on situational football throughout training camp. "They made some great throws, but we could do better overall. The whole defense, from the rush to the linebackers to the secondary. We could all do better.”

From there, the snowball only got bigger and rolled faster downhill as the football game got away from the Seahawks in quick fashion. With right tackle Abraham Lucas sidelined by a knee injury and left tackle Charles Cross exiting after a three-and-out possession, the playbook suddenly shrunk with Smith under constant duress as backups Jake Curhan and Stone Forsythe struggled to protect him.

After Ken Walker III ran for 53 yards in the first half, the Seattle Seahawks couldn't move the ball at all in the final two quarters, leading to an ugly 17 point defeat at Lumen Field

With Smith lacking time to throw and the Rams dominating at the line of scrimmage, the Seahawks produced 17 net yards in their first three possessions of the second half, only moving the chains one time thanks to a defensive pass interference penalty. Those drives lasted a combined four minutes and 14 seconds, all ending in the blink of an eye with a Michael Dickson punt and forcing a gassed defense back onto the field.

What went wrong for Smith and company? Carroll couldn't put a finger on it after the conclusion of the game, saying coaches already had started taking a look at how things became "so erratic" in the last two quarters.

"We weren't on it and didn't convert and get the ball moving," a baffled Carroll responded. "We didn't run the ball, we didn't do anything. Did nothing in the second half. We were trying and calling the stuff and we had things that we thought we could do, and we weren't able to get it done."

After Los Angeles tacked on a Brett Maher field goal with under five minutes to play to push its lead to 14 points, with the game already well in hand, Metcalf's inexcusable penalty promptly derailed Seattle's slim comeback hopes. To his credit, Smith demonstrated great leadership by taking the sword after the game, accepting the blame for his team's offensive ineptitude after halftime.

"When you lose any of your key guys it's going to be a challenge," Smith said. "We got guys who continue to step up, and so we expect those guys to step up. I don't think they were the reason we didn't execute. When you look at it, you put that on me. I got to go out there and play better for the guys and make sure we're on point. But it's a challenge to lose your guys. We need those guys. They're a big part of our offense."

While Smith certainly had a rough half with nine passing yards in the final two quarters and must play better moving forward, however, anyone watching the game knew the quarterback didn't stand a fighting chance with two reserve tackles in front of him. This was particularly evident on the two sacks after Metcalf lost his cool where he literally took the snap and found himself immediately hounded by an onslaught of pass rushers.

By the time the final horn sounded, the Rams had racked up 426 yards, including 334 passing yards from Stafford without his best receiver Cooper Kupp, who was placed on injured reserve on Friday. On the flip side, the Seahawks were held to 180 yards, with just 12 of those coming in the final two quarters during a historically awful half of football in all facets that everyone will want to wipe from their memory bank.

On an afternoon where few positives could be gleaned from a dreadful performance, Smith, Wagner, and Metcalf shared of the opinion that the Rams played harder and wanted it more, a discouraging statement for a Seahawks squad that entered the season with high expectations. But they also stated the obvious that it is only one game and a long season remains in front of them to get back on track and achieve their goals.

Eager to get the bad taste out of his mouth after receiving an unexpected beatdown at the hands of their NFC West rival, Carroll knows an even tougher opponent awaits with a tough road test in Detroit next weekend and hopes to see his team respond to the challenge starting on Tell The Truth Monday.

"We'll see how this goes. Now it's about us digging back into it. We've done a ton of the right stuff all the way through. I've been telling you how the preparation has gone. When it matched up and came time, we weren't able to get off the field like we thought we would be able to. They did a nice job taking care of it and didn't give us the football other than the blocked kick. That's enough to play a good football game if they can take care of the ball, and they did. We’ve got a lot of work to do."