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Earl Thomas III answered any questions about the stability of his repaired shoulder with a dynamic performance in Seattle’s season opener, but the Seahawks came up just short of a Week 1 win.

ET tallied a game-high nine tackles and a forced a key fumble in the fourth quarter in Sunday’s opening day contest against the St. Louis Rams. But St. Louis came out on top of the back-and-forth battle 34-31 in overtime. It was a tough loss to swallow for No. 29 and his teammates, but as he reflected on the defeat, Earl noted that there was one big positive to come out of the game. His surgically repaired left shoulder gave him no issues throughout the contest, a positive sign out of the gate.

“I was just happy with the outcome with how my shoulder held up,” Thomas said. “My rehab is paying off. They’re doing a great job with me.”

As has been the case so many times when the Rams and Seahawks meet over the last several years, the game was another tremendous clash between the two NFC West rivals.

Though Seattle’s roster is riddled with veterans of those battles, early in the game, the Hawks looked to a newcomer for their first score. After Earl and the defense forced a quick three-and-out on the first Rams drive, rookie Tyler Lockett took the St. Louis punt back 57 yards to give Seattle an early 7-0 advantage.

However, new St. Louis quarterback Nick Foles found a rhythm on the subsequent drive. Earl combined with Cassius Marsh and K.J. Wright on a pair of tackles on the series, but the Rams broke through anyway, their long drive ending with a 16-yard touchdown run by Tavon Austin to tie the game 7-7.

As Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll explained afterward, the Rams scarcely ventured into Area 29, but Foles did a nice job of finding holes throughout the Seattle defense.

“They didn’t get after us outside and deep on deep balls,” Carroll explained. “They didn’t get behind Earl. They kind of just got in between us and around us, and they did a nice job of it. That’s just how it happens.”

Seattle’s next offensive set ended in an interception, and that put Earl and the defense in a precarious position, defending on their own 26-yard line. However, ET III took down Stedman Bailey well short of the sticks on third down, and the Rams had to settle for three points. That allowed Seattle kicker Steven Hauschka to knot the game right back up at 10 just before the half.

Another field goal from Hauschka gave the Seahawks a 13-10 lead early in the third quarter, but the rest of that frame belonged to St. Louis. Foles and the Rams swiftly responded with a touchdown drive, and after a Seattle three-and-out, it was Austin again scoring on a 75-yard punt return.

The Hawks trailed 24-13 going into the fourth quarter, but they showed the resilience that has carried them to the Super Bowl in each of the last two seasons. Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson linked up with the team’s newest new offensive weapon, tight end Jimmy Graham, several times on the first drive of the final frame, including a seven-yard scoring strike to pull the Seahawks with five. Marshawn Lynch then punched in the two-point conversion to cut the deficit to three.

On the next drive, Earl put the Hawks in position to score once again. On first down in Seattle territory, the Rams handed to Isaiah Pead up the left side, but ET was there waiting and made another tremendous play against a Rams runner, something he has become known for over the last few years. No. 29 came streaking in and punched the ball loose of Pead’s grip. Seattle’s Bruce Irvin jumped on the ball near the sideline, and Seattle took over. The ensuing Hawks drive ended in another three points and a 24-all tie.

“He played very well,” Carroll said of No. 29. “Earl was all over the place, did a nice job on all the stuff they tried to get up top. They had a number of big shots they looked to take and he was there for them, and I thought that that could happen in this game, they’d just check him out, which they should and they did, and he did a very nice job. He tackled pretty well, and I think he found his confidence as he went through the game. He needed to play and get going, he felt enthused by ‘I’m back, I’m ready’ and all that after the game.”

Even after the Hawks tied the game, the Seattle defense continued buzz, following the lead set by No. 29 and his forced fumble. On the first play of the very next Rams drive, cornerback Cary Williams shot in from the weak-side on a blitz and laid a strong hit on Foles, knocking the ball loose. Williams stayed on his feet, scooped up the ball and took it to the end zone for a touchdown, giving the Hawks a 31-24 lead.

However, St. Louis quickly bounced back with a long drive and used four big third-down plays to march down the field. The last of those was a 37-yard connection between Foles and tight end Lance Kendricks for a touchdown, and the subsequent extra point tied the game at 31.

 

The momentum swinging play was put in motion when Kendricks beat young Seahawks safety Dion Bailey, who was filling in for the absent Kam Chancellor. The play left the second-year safety Bailey disappointed after his first start. However, ET believes that the adversity will only make his teammate stronger.

“It’s a tough situation,” Earl said, “but sometimes when it hurts like that it makes you sharper. We’ve all been through those type of situations.”

That Kendricks touchdown forced overtime, and the extra frame got off to an odd start.

The Rams won possession, and Hauschka attempted a pooch kickoff to keep the ball away from the dangerous Tavon Austin. However, Hauschka mishit the kick and St. Louis recovered at midfield. From there, St. Louis didn’t need to go far to have a shot a field goal and the lead, and Foles used a perfectly placed pass to put his team in position. The St. Louis quarterback dropped an impeccable ball between Earl, Richard Sherman and the sideline to Stedman Bailey, which put the Rams at Seattle’s 25.

The Seahawks defense refused to break from there, forcing the Rams to settle for a field goal and giving the Seattle offense once chance to tie or win the game. The Hawks quickly moved the ball across midfield, but stalled short of field goal range and on 4th and 1 from the 42, running back Marshawn Lynch was swallowed up for a loss in the backfield, giving St. Louis a hard fought win.

Afterward, Earl reflected on where his team came up short and what they’ll have to do to improve.

“I think the biggest thing that stuck out is third-and-long,” he said. “We’ve got to get better.”

NEXT UP

The challenge doesn’t get any easier for the Seahawks (0-1) as they’re back on the road again this weekend to take on the Green Bay Packers (1-0) at Lambeau Field next Sunday night.

The last time the two teams met was last year’s NFC Championship Game, which Seattle memorably won, in dramatic fashion. Earl tore the labrum in his shoulder making a tackle on Randall Cobb early in the game, but returned to help fuel a spectacular comeback victory, which sent the Hawks to the Super Bowl with a 28-22 win. The teams also faced off in last year’s NFL Kickoff season opener, a game the Seahawks won 36-16. But both those games were played in Seattle and Sunday’s visit to Lambeau Field will be an entirely different challenge for the Hawks.

The highly anticipated contest between the Seahawks and Packers is set to air in primetime as part as NBC’s Sunday Night Football, with kickoff slated for just after 5:30 p.m. PT.

RELATED LINKS

• Pete Carroll on loss to Rams, Earl Thomas and more (Seattle Times, Sept. 14, 2015)
• Earl Thomas forces key fumble as Seahawks try to rally vs. Rams (Seattle Times, Sept. 13, 2015)
• Dion Bailey: I will be better next week (247 Sports, Sept. 14, 2015)
• Bailey vows to learn from big mistake (Seattle Times, Sept. 14, 2015)