As the Los Angeles Rams look to get off to a 1-0 start when they play the San Francisco 49ers tonight, they got a sneak peek at what their biggest NFC West threat looked like in the NFL season opener. The Seattle Seahawks snatched a victory away from the New England Patriots on Wednesday night, with their defense closing the door on a game-winning drive that was attempted by Drake Maye.
However, the victory for Seattle did not come without worry. Quarterback Sam Darnold had to leave the game due to a hip injury, but the early diagnosis is that he avoided a break.
The main thing is that the Rams learned two important lessons. The NFC West should be theirs, and Seattle has every answer for a divisional pursuit launched by Los Angeles. The Rams and Seahawks
don't play each other until the final three weeks of the season, when they'll face off in Weeks 16 and 18.
Regardless, the Seahawks proved that they'll have some growing pains again, and the team they have to start 2026 is not the well-oiled machine that ended 2025. Their offensive line is stout, Jaxon Smith-Njigba remains elite, and Cooper Kupp looks as good as he's looked in years. Jadarian Price had an outstanding debut, and backup Drew Lock found a way to put it together.
At the same time, the Rams should have answers for those players. Their reinvented secondary should quell Seattle's passing attack, and their defensive line is miles beyond the product New England put on the field. While Seattle has talent, the Rams do not have one position in which they're deficient enough on paper to give the Seahawks an advantage. If Seattle is to once again beat the Rams offensively, Los Angeles was either outplayed or outcoached, because Seattle isn't built better than the Rams.
On the other side of the ball, Maye blew it. Yes, Romeo Doubs dropped an easy pass for a big gain, which led to Maye launching an interception on the next play. That gave Seattle the field position needed to take the lead, but Maye threw three total interceptions in the fourth quarter, with his final pass of the game being an unacceptable mistake.
Down three points in the final minute, all Maye had to do was protect the football. It was third-and-5 from the Seattle 16. If the pass isn't there, throw it away beyond a reasonable doubt. Maye got a look; the window closed faster than expected. Maye panicked, and in an attempt to simultaneously hit his target and throw the ball away, he split the difference and tossed the losing interception to Josh Jobe.
Stafford doesn't do that. Seattle's defense won the game, but New England and Maye let the Seahawks off the hook. New England lost this game more than Seattle won it; thus, the Rams should have no problem winning the division if their defense is as good as advertised, while their offense remains a league-leading juggernaut.
The problem is that theories mean nothing, and Seattle proved on Wednesday that despite its offseason losses, they're still built for the moment. Their special teams were excellent, outside of a roughing the kicker penalty, with head coach Mike Macdonald taking tactical timeouts to ensure special teams efficiency. That's an area Sean McVay and the Rams have struggled with in recent years.
As mentioned, Kupp came up big again, and the Rams could've used him in 2025. Do the Rams have that other option beyond Puka Nacua and Davante Adams? The Seahawks have Smith-Njigba and Rashid Shaheed, with Kupp as their bailout option. Who bails out the Rams? No one did last season in the NFC title game, the same game where Kupp again bailed out Seattle.
The Rams are the better team, but they let victory slip out of their grasp at alarming rates in 2025. Seattle is the master at turning losing situations into wins. The Rams learned on Wednesday that they have the advantage, but Seattle still owns the killer edge in the West.
Long story short, until a title is clinched, those narratives surrounding the Rams mean nothing, as Seattle's still championship quality.
This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: What the Rams can learn from the Seahawks' narrow win vs. Patriots
