Seahawks Suffer Historic Second-Half Stall in Loss to Rams

The Seattle Seahawks fell to the Los Angeles Rams after a stagnant second half where they only picked up one first down.

The Seattle Seahawks fell 27-13 in their season opener versus the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday, who, despite coming off a 5-12 season, were able to pull the upset inside Lumen Field. 

As many would've expected, the Seahawks got the game off to a quick start as quarterback Geno Smith led the offense on a 12-play drive spanning 57 yards before setting up a 36-yard field goal for Jason Meyers. 

Then, in response to a first-drive touchdown for the Rams, Smith would make up for the missed chances that saw them settle for a field goal with a 10-yard touchdown pass to D.K. Metcalf, giving the Seahawks a quick 10-7 lead. 

The Seahawks would tack on another field goal to take a 13-7 lead into the locker room for halftime. Things seemed to be trending toward a competitiv second half.

Yet, it was anything but, as the Seahawks crumbled in historic fashion.

The Seahawks offense sputtered in the second half, being shut out of the endzone and totaling just 12 total yards compared to the 168 they put up in the first two quarters. Per ESPN's Brady Henderson, the 12 yards the Seahawks had in the second half "marked their lowest output in any half since at least 1991 (which is as far back as we have available data on that)."

Injuries to both starting offensive tackle Charles Cross and Abraham Lucas left Smith and the Seahawks' offense without their top bookends against a Rams defensive line featuring future Hall of Famer Aaron Donald. 

Combine the absences of Cross and Lucas with an offense that looked out of sync in the second half, and you get a recipe that cooks up nothing good. The Seahawks had just one drive that wasn't a three-and-out due to a defensive pass interference penalty that reset the downs on Seattle's second drive of the half. 

While the Seahawks' offense stalled, the Rams' offense exploded for 23 points in the second half as they went on to hand Seattle its first loss of the season.

The Seahawks will look to regroup headed into Week 2. They'll hit the road to face the Detroit Lions at Ford Field on Sunday.