Jim Moore: The Seahawks looked bad Sunday, but I won’t be surprised if they bounce back

The first sign that caused me to think the Seahawks might be in trouble Sunday afternoon was the point spread on their game with the Rams.

Or if not in trouble, at least in a tougher tussle than what many expected. The Seahawks were playing at home against a team that finished 5-12 last year and is projected to finish third in a four-team division and was playing without Cooper Kupp, its top offensive weapon.

And the Seahawks themselves were supposed to be better than they were last year, a 9-8 team that made the playoffs, maybe even good enough to challenge the 49ers in the NFC West and perhaps even go to the Super Bowl.

Yet Pete Carroll’s team was favored by only five points, which looked like a mistake by the typically sharp guys in Las Vegas. Surely the Seahawks would roll to a double-digit victory over the outmanned Rams.

You know how it turned out as the Rams were the ones who posted the lopsided win, a 30-13 head-slapper that caused predictable negative reaction on social media from Seahawks fans.

Most of it was certainly justified. For all the talk about an improved defense and an offense that figured to be top 10 in the league this season, none of it showed up at Lumen Field in the first game.

Well, check that, the run defense was OK, it’s just that the pass defense and pass rush were so bad that no one noticed an uptick in the occasional stoppage of the Rams’ ground game. Of the more notable stats that told the story of what happened, the Seahawks recorded no sacks and hit Matthew Stafford only two times on 39 dropbacks.

It would stand to reason that the Seahawks’ defensive backs would have a challenging day with a veteran quarterback like Stafford getting so much time to throw. Then again, the secondary was supposed to be one of the team’s strengths, and the Rams were so depleted at receiver that a no-namer like Tutu Atwell and a fifth-round draft choice, Puka Nacua, both had more than 100 receiving yards after being open all day long.

Complicating matters, the Rams were inexplicably effective on third down, converting 8 of their first 10. On the other side of the ball, the Seahawks went from looking competent in the first half, moving the ball and scoring 13 points and not having to punt, to completely hopeless in the second half, gaining only 12 yards.

If excuses need to be made, there’s a convenient one - the Seahawks played most of the second half without Charles Cross and Abe Lucas, their starting tackles. But still, with the skill players they have, the Seahawks should have mustered more than they did.

The game wasn’t quite over, but it truly ended when Geno Smith was sacked two plays in a row, resulting in a fourth-and-forever, a punt and boisterous boos from the 12’s.

The worst part of the whole affair occurred when it was clear that the Seahawks were not going to win. D.K. Metcalf shoved Ahkello Witherspoon to the ground from behind, a cheap shot under any circumstances, and was then flagged for taunting. Soon after, Quandre Diggs was penalized for unnecessary roughness. I get frustration, but those were poor loser moves by both players.

If you’re wondering where the Seahawks go from here, it’s Detroit, home of the Lions, a team on the rise after beating the Super Bowl champion Chiefs last Thursday. At this point, an 0-2 start to the season is more likely than 1-1, that’s for sure.

But I wouldn’t bury the Seahawks after one bad game. I wouldn’t even have a shovel out. Look around the league and you’ll see disappointing performances from other supposedly good teams. The Bengals, with all of their firepower, lost 24-3 at Cleveland. The Steelers were flattened 30-7 at home by the 49ers. The Giants were shut out 40-0 at home by the Cowboys.

No one gave the Rams much of a chance, and the Seahawks will be in the same position in Detroit where the Lions will be playing their home opener amid high expectations against what appears to be an inferior opponent.

Guess what, the point spread’s about the same - Lions by 5 1/2 - as it was for the Seahawks against the Rams. Off of what we saw at Lumen Field in the first 60 minutes of the season, there’s no good reason to think an upset’s brewing in Detroit.

But given the unpredictable nature of the NFL and bounce-back factor with teams that want to make up for an embarrassing effort, it would be unwise to rule out a rousing Seahawks’ victory on Sunday.

Jim Moore has covered Washington’s sports scene from every angle for multiple news outlets. You can find him on Twitter @cougsgo, and on KJR-FM 93.3, where he co-hosts a sports talk show from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on weekdays.