National Football League

Much-hyped Seahawks admit effort an issue in troubling loss to young Rams

Updated Sep. 11, 2023 8:08 a.m. ET

SEATTLE — One of the main things NFL players can control is their effort.

And to a man, the Seattle Seahawks acknowledged that the Los Angeles Rams played harder in a head-scratching season-opening 30-13 loss.

The result was Seattle's worst home loss since a 42-7 humbling at the hands of the Rams back in 2017, and an embarrassing setback for a Seattle squad expected to make some noise in the playoffs.

"I just felt like the Rams played harder than us," a stoic DK Metcalf said. "Their defense played harder than our offense. They really wanted this one."

Added Seattle quarterback Geno Smith: "Hats off to the Rams. They wanted it more. They played harder. And they executed better."

Based on season outlooks, the Seahawks were expected to be the clearly superior team. The Rams have a league-high 14 rookies on their roster, and 10 of those were active against Seattle. Los Angeles is rebuilding, while the Seahawks loaded up in free agency and the draft with an eye toward chasing down the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC West and making a deep playoff run.

But at the end of the day, the remodeling Rams pulled off the upset on the road against Seattle. The Rams finished plays and fought for extra yards on offense, and they rallied to the football on defense.

It took only a week for the bloom to come off the rose for Seattle.

The Seahawks also dealt with their share of adversity. Seattle suffered injuries to frontline players in left tackle Charles Cross (toe), right tackle Abe Lucas (knee) and receiver Tyler Lockett (concussion protocol). All three did not finish the game, making it tough for Seattle to execute on offense in the second half.

The Seahawks swept the season series last year, and the Rams seemed intent on showing they're a different team after finishing 5-12 in 2022. They finished with 426 yards of total offense and converted 11-of-17 (64.7%) third downs. Matthew Stafford completed 24-of-38 passes (63.2%) for 334 yards.

Los Angeles struggled to protect Stafford last season, which led to a season-ending bruised spinal cord injury. But on Sunday, Seattle failed to sack Stafford even once and had just two quarterback hits. The Seahawks heavily invested in the defensive line this offseason, signing Uchenna Nwosu to a lucrative new deal and bringing in Dre'Mont Jones and Jarran Reed, but it didn't result in more pressure on the quarterback.

Even with WR1 Cooper Kupp out with a lingering hamstring issue, the Rams finished with two receivers reaching 119 receiving yards for just the fifth time in franchise history since the merger. Rookie Puka Nacua led the Rams with 10 receptions for 119 yards on 15 targets, while Tutu Atwell had six receptions for 119 yards, with a long of 44 yards.

Nacua became just the fifth player in NFL history to record at least 10 receptions in his debut. According to Next Gen Sports, he had eight receptions for 102 yards on 13 targets when aligned out wide.

Seattle looked in control early, leading 13-7 at halftime. However, the Rams scored 23 unanswered points in the second half while the Seahawks managed just 12 total yards and one first down.

Late in the game, Smith was sacked consecutive times by the Rams, leading to a smattering of boos and fans heading for the exits with just under four minutes remaining.

Seattle players also lost their cool late in the game as both Metcalf (taunting) and Quandre Diggs (unnecessary roughness) received personal foul penalties. Metcalf had apparently had enough, heading to the locker room with an escort before the final whistle.

"I thought we lost our mindset a little bit," coach Pete Carroll said about the unsportsmanlike penalties. "And we'll talk about that. That shows you the frustration, based on the expectations that we were going to be better and not be in that situation.

"I don't like seeing stuff like that. That was terrible. And we'll talk about it. That's not something I'm concerned about that. We've got to be better when we're in that situation."

Rams' Matthew Stafford and Aaron Donald talk about win over Seahawks

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Playing in his first game back in Lumen Field since re-signing with Seattle after spending 2022 with the Rams, 33-year-old veteran linebacker Bobby Wagner served as the voice of reason.

"This is the NFL, and you're going to get their best shot, regardless of record or the team," Wagner said. "They're going to come back. Those guys get paid, too, and have families they're trying to feed. So you need to bring your ‘A' game every time you step on the field.

"But at the same time, you understand this is Week 1. There's 16 games left. There's a lot of teams that start off 8-0 and fade to the back. There's a lot of teams that struggle in the beginning and then catch fire right before the playoffs. The team that takes their losses, learns from their mistakes throughout the course of the season and has camaraderie is going to be I believe happy with the results."

That said, Seattle better get its act together before traveling to face the red-hot Detroit Lions on the road in Motown next week. The Lions have won nine of their past 11 games dating back to last season and beat the defending Super Bowl-champion Kansas City Chiefs to open this year.

Eric D. Williams has reported on the NFL for more than a decade, covering the Los Angeles Rams for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Chargers for ESPN and the Seattle Seahawks for the Tacoma News Tribune. Follow him on Twitter at @eric_d_williams.

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