Seahawks' gritty win already answered Rams fans' questions

The Seattle Seahawks lost key pieces this offseason on both sides of the ball, leaving Los Angeles Rams fans to question whether and how much it would affect their most competitive division rival. 

Cornerback Tariq Woolen, gone to the Eagles. Safety Coby Bryant, now a Bear. Edge rusher Boye Mafe, Bengals. 

In a running back room still absent the injured Zach Charbonnet, Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker III left for Kansas City.

Watching the Seahawks smother New England in the NFL's season opener on Wednesday, you wouldn't have known any of that, despite the fact that star safety Nick Emmanwori was out injured. In the Super Bowl rematch, Seattle overcame an early injury to quarterback Sam Darnold to dominate the Patriots with a solid run game and dominating defense. 

While Darnold's hip injury remains a major concern for the Seahawks' passing attack, Rams fans know this much: Seattle lost little to nothing from those offseason subtractions. 

Rams will face same relentless defense when they play Seattle this season

Los Angeles is fully focused on their own Week 1 matchup against the San Francisco 49ers. Head coach Sean McVay preaches living completely in the present. For fans looking ahead to pivotal games against Seattle in Weeks 16 and 18, however, it's safe to say that Wednesday night gave us a good idea of what the Rams will be up against as compared to facing last season's Seahawks. 

More of the same. 

Despite missing Emmanwori, Seattle's secondary picked off Drake Maye on each of the Patriots' final three possessions. Cornerback Josh Jobe sealed the win with an interception in the end zone with New England well within field goal range and looking for more.

Part of Maye's three-turnover performance was his own disastrous decision-making. The other part was the ballhawking, relentless Seahawks defense. The defensive line squashed New England's run game all night long. 

The interior pass rush and DB blitzes kept Maye under constant pressure, leading to three sacks. Maye averaged 5.4 yards per pass attempt and 7.7 yards per completion. As a whole, New England mustered just 4.1 yards per play. 

The Seahawks defense remained suffocating despite spending over 34 minutes on the field as the Patriots controlled time of possession, to no avail. The offense relied on an efficient outing from backup quarterback Drew Lock and a sound ground game led by rookie first-rounder Jadarian Price. 

The Notre Dame product led all rushers with 52 yards on 10 carries. As a team, Seattle carried 22 times for 97 yards. Naturally, receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba accounted for the bulk of aerial production: eight catches for 122 yards and a score.

It was enough to get the job done by a score of 13-10 as the Seahawks overcame Darnold's injury and a sloppy, penalty-riddled debut. 

A strong defense, consistent rushing assault, and a star playmaker like JSN will do that. For Rams fans, it confirms that facing the Seahawks will be just as challenging as a season ago. Those offseason roster casualties notwithstanding, Seattle hasn't missed a beat in the areas where last year's team was strongest. 

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