NFC West Power Rankings: Week One

4 – Seattle Seahawks

Sep 13, 2015; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Rams quarterback Nick Fole (5) is stripped of the ball by Seattle Seahawks defensive back Cary William (26) during the second half at the Edward Jones Dome. The Rams defeated the Seahawks 34-31 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

Last year’s NFC Super Bowl representatives had a weird opening weekend. The Seahawks looked good before they looked bad, but then they looked really good, and then they looked really bad again. The up-and-down action from Seattle eventually resulted in an overtime 34-31 loss to their NFC West rivals, the Rams.

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Seattle scored first in the opening quarter on a punt return by highly-touted rookie Tyler Lockett, but went into halftime tied at 10. After regaining the lead with 3:38 left in the third quarter, the Seahawks allowed two touchdowns before the quarter ended to give the Rams a 24-13 lead. Seattle led a furious comeback, as Russell Wilson threw for a score (followed by a two-point conversion), Steven Hauschka kicked a field goal, and Cary Williams returned a fumble for a score.

The Rams didn’t roll over, as Nick Foles hit Lance Kendricks for the game-tying touchdown with under a minute to play, and Greg Zuerlein kicked what would eventually be the game-winning field goal in overtime.

Seattle has a lot to work on heading from week one to week two. The Legion of Boom, who are still missing safety Kam Chancellor, was pretty well picked apart by new Rams’ quarterback Foles, although he did lose a pair of fumbles. The run defense was good, as the Rams gained only 76 yards on the ground, and leading rusher Benny Cunningham gained less than three per carry against the stout Seattle front seven.

Against St. Louis’ own fantastic front seven, the Seahawks’ offensive line struggled. Russell Wilson was sacked six times, and forced to check down a lot, as he averaged under eight yards per completion. The offensive front has to improve if they want to hold the great defenses in the NFC West.

Next: Number Three