Monday night netted a win for the Seahawks, but it sure wasn't easy. The Rams literally took them to the final play before Seattle escaped with a 14-9 win in St. Louis. Generally speaking, the Seahawks were pretty terrible. But there's no need to panic when it comes to their long-term chances.
For starters, this was a win on the road, in the division. Those games are never easy no matter who you're playing, particularly when you add in the primetime factor. Getting out with a win -- even a sloppy one -- should be celebrated.
Secondly, the Seahawks, at 7-1, are still a win up on the 49ers in the NFC West and a half game up on the Saints for the top seed in the NFC. Nothing, and I mean nothing, is more important than homefield advantage in the NFC this year.
From the actual gameplay itself, there's plenty of reason to worry about Russell Wilson getting sacked a ridiculous seven times. Both Chris Long and Robert Quinn pulled off a hat trick Monday night, repeatedly abusing Paul McQuistan and Michael Bowie as they worked through the patchwork Seattle offensive line.
The good news is Seattle's planning to (eventually) get Russell Okung and Breno Giacomini back on the field, which will do wonders for Wilson in protection and Marshawn Lynch in the running game.
Percy Harvin will also return -- possibly as early as Week 9 -- and while he's not going to block, his ability to rip off big chunk plays from short-yardage positions should reduce the amount of pressure on Wilson.
There's also the matter of the Rams being a perfect matchup for this Seahawks team in its weakened state. If you can contain Wilson in a sloppy pocket you can prevent him from putting up big numbers, particularly running the ball. Not a ton of teams have the athleticism to make it work from the defensive end position; with Long and Quinn the Rams absolutely do.
Another bonus for the Seahawks is their schedule. They'll get the Buccaneers in Week 9, travel to the downtrodden Falcons in Week 10 and play the despondent Vikings in Week 11 before their Week 12 bye. Nine-and-two looks like the worst-case scenario when they hit their break. That they get an extra week of prep and rest before playing the Saints -- in a game that might determine NFC home-field advantage -- is just gravy.
I'm not crowning the Seahawks. They looked sloppy Monday and they've looked sloppy before. But Super Bowls aren't won in late October when you're not at full strength and playing on the road in front of a motivated divisional opponent.
The Seahawks have plenty of time to worry about playing perfect football come January.
