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The Seattle Seahawks found themselves locked in another tight defensive battle on Sunday, and Earl Thomas III and company emerged victorious to start the 2016 season off on a positive note.

ET III and the Seahawks defense stifled Ryan Tannehill and the Dolphins offense for most of the afternoon, allowing for their own offense to do what they do best in crunch time. Trailing by four points with 4:08 left to play, an injured Russel Wilson drove his team 75 yards and capped off the impressive drive with a two-yard touchdown pass to Doug Baldwin with 31 seconds remaining, to complete a 12-10 comeback victory over the Miami Dolphins at CenturyLink Field.

“There’s a belief that we can do it, and if we only have (4:08) left and 75 yards, it doesn’t matter,” head coach Pete Carroll said. “That’s a really powerful thing for a team.”

Earl finished the game with two tackles and the Legion of Boom once again looked formidable as a whole in the Week 1 win. Miami totaled just 214 yards over the course of the day and Tannehill was 16-of-29 for just 186 yards without a touchdown pass, often forced to dump the ball off underneath with no options down the field, which resulted in running back Arian Foster topping the team in receiving yards.

The game started off slowly for both teams with back-to-back punts to open the contest.

The Seattle offense got going on their second drive of the game, even briefly cracking the red zone. But on 3rd-and-9 from the Miami 16, Wilson was sacked, forcing the Seahawks to settle for a 39-yard Steven Hauschka field goal with 5:15 remaining in the first to take a 3-0 lead.

After taking the lead, the Hawks defense continued to keep Miami quiet. The Dolphins also reached the red zone on their second drive of the day, but once they arrived there, strong safety Kam Chancellor came up with a huge stop of Foster on 4th and 1 from the Seattle 17 to force a turnover on downs. Foster had gotten the drive going a few plays earlier with a 50-yard catch and run, so with one yard to gain, Miami entrusted their new running back to move the chains. But Chancellor plowed through the line to stop Foster in his track and give the ball back to the Seahawks with a little over a minute to play in the opening frame.

After the Seahawks were forced to punt early in the second quarter, the defense came up big with a three-and-out on the ensuing series, which included a solid stop by Earl to close it out. After Tannehill was sacked on second down, the quarterback connected with Jarvis Landry looking to pick up a long third down conversion, but Earl was there to take down Miami’s star receiver short of the first down marker and force a punt. However, the Seattle offense continued to struggle finding its rhythm as Wilson was picked off a few plays later.

Though the Hawks defense barely allowed them to gain any ground on the ensuing drive, the Dolphins were able to capitalize on the short field given to them by the turnover, with a field goal to tie things up with 8:49 left in the half. The teams traded a pair of punts as the clock quickly wound toward halftime, but Seattle was able to turn their final drive of the half into points as Hauschka drilled a 38-yard field goal as time expired in the half to give the Seahawks a 6-3 lead at the break.

Early in the second half, ET and the L.O.B. continued to impress as they forced a quick three-and-out on the opening series of the third quarter. However, the Seahawks were dealt a blow on their first possession of the half when Ndamukong Suh dropped Wilson for a sack and appeared to step on the quarterback’s heel as he went to the ground.

After the play, Wilson was in noticeable pain, but the star signal caller was able to stay in the game.

“We were ready to go with (backup quarterback Trevone) Boykin, but Russell jumped back out,” Carroll explained afterward.

However, defense continued to dominate the game, as both teams went scoreless through the third, and the Seahawks took that same 6-3 halftime lead into the final quarter. Early in the final frame, after a fumble by the hobbled Wilson gave them another short field, the Dolphins had a golden opportunity to tie things up on a chip shot field goal. But Seattle defensive end Cassius Marsh came up with an outstanding block on a 27-yard attempt to keep the Hawks’ lead intact.

However, the Seattle defense could only keep Miami off the board for so long. Seattle’s next possession after the block resulted in John Ryan’s sixth punt of the day and on the ensuing drive Tannehill took the Dolphins down the field in just seven plays to record the first touchdown of the game, which the quarterback ran in himself from two yards out. That score put the Seahawks behind for the first time all day, 10-6 with just over four minutes to play. But despite his injured ankle, Wilson had the answer.

Seattle’s clutch quarterback orchestrated a beautiful game-winning drive, marching the Hawks down the field in 14 plays while soaking up nearly the rest of the remaining time. The long drive culminated in a touchdown toss from Wilson to Doug Baldwin with 35 seconds left, to put the Seahawks back in front.

“He’s a tough dude,” Baldwin said of his quarterback. “It’s not just his mental fortitude, but also his physical prowess and what he brings to the table in every facet. I told him, ‘You need to suck it up,’ and he said … well, I can’t repeat what he said. But he let me know it wasn’t going to affect his play. Obviously, he showed that.”

Hauschka’s extra point attempt was blocked, giving Miami a bit of life, but the Seattle defense buckled down to finish the job. After an incomplete pass on first down, Tannehill was sacked on back-to-back plays, first by Marsh and then by Cliff Avril, and time expired before the Dolphins could even run a fourth down play. Though the Seahawks defense had a rare turnover-free day, five sacks of Tannehill helped to stifle the Dolphins enough that it didn’t matter as they walked away with a win.

NEXT UP

Next week Earl and the Hawks hit the road for the first time this season, heading south to Los Angeles where they’ll play the Rams in the first regular season NFL game played in the City of Angels since 1994.

Last season Seattle had trouble figuring out the then St. Louis Rams and they dropped both meetings to their division foes. Those two tough losses should provide plenty of motivation for ET III and his teammates to come out strong and handle the newly-located Rams. Case Keenum is expected get the start at quarterback after he beat out first-overall pick Jared Goff for the starting gig to open the season. The Rams fell 28-0 to the San Francisco 49ers on Monday night to open the season.

Earl and the defense will tasked with containing a Rams offense highlighted by speedy receiver Tavon Austin and running back Todd Gurley.

Sunday’s contest is slated to kick off at 1:05 p.m. PST at the L.A. Memorial Coliseum and will be aired on FOX.