Don't let the Seattle Seahawks' recent history of overcoming slow starts lead you to believe this is just another typical stumble out of the gates. The team's offensive vital signs through two games have never registered weaker during the Russell Wilson era. You pick the category -- points, touchdowns, Total QBR, rushing yards, third-down conversion rate -- and there's a great chance the two-game stats have never been worse in five seasons with Wilson in the lineup.
With so much going wrong for Seattle offensively, the challenge becomes figuring out what the team should and should not worry about heading into its Week 3 matchup against the San Francisco 49ers.
Issues that should resolve themselves
1. Scheduling quirk: The Seahawks' perpetual issues along the offensive line become most acute when the team faces opponents with especially difficult defensive fronts, which is one reason the Los Angeles Rams have won the past three meetings between the teams.
The 2016 schedule served up matchups against Ndamukong Suh (Week 1), Aaron Donald (Week 2) and Muhammad Wilkerson (Week 4) during the season's first month. Suh injured Wilson's ankle. Donald had his way with Seattle during the Rams' 9-3 victory Sunday. Wilkerson and the New York Jets' defensive front will create problems as well.
2. Ifedi's untimely injury. The Seahawks came out of Week 1 with a league-low two first-round draft choices under contract (nine was the average for the other 32 teams). One of those first-rounders, rookie Germain Ifedi, emerged from training camp looking like he could stabilize the interior offensive line, especially with Justin Britt playing surprisingly well at center. Ifedi suffered a high ankle sprain in practice on the Wednesday before the opener. The injury forced J'Marcus Webb into the lineup, which has been a disaster. Ifedi's return should help shore up the interior, bringing cohesion to a unit visibly struggling right now.
Lasting concerns
1. Offensive tackle pedigrees. Seattle once envisioned first-round draft choices Russell Okung and James Carpenter as their long-term starting tackles. Neither earned a second contract from the Seahawks. Current starters Bradley Sowell and Garry Gilliam entered the NFL as undrafted free agents, making Seattle the only NFL team with undrafted starters at both tackle spots. Neither has proved himself as a viable starter at a position where talent can be paramount. Fifty-two of the NFL's remaining 62 starting tackles were drafted, and 39 of those were taken in the first three rounds. Sowell and Gilliam could improve, but how high are their ceilings, realistically?
2. Unproven running backs. Marshawn Lynch missed one game to injury during his first five seasons with the Seahawks. Thomas Rawls looked like a star in the making while averaging 5.6 yards per carry as a rookie replacement for Lynch last season, but he has been hurt twice during a short run as a starter. He has never strung together more than three games with 10-plus carries. Rookie third-round pick C.J. Prosise also has had injury troubles. Christine Michael has been a revelation, averaging 5.0 yards per carry, but he lost a fumble on Sunday with the game on the line. Seattle needs a dependable back to feature in its run-oriented offense. Is there one on the roster?
"What you see missing with that group is the imposing running game," a personnel evaluator from another team said. "When we played those guys, people would talk about Russell Wilson or Doug Baldwin, but Marshawn Lynch really stirred the cup for that team, got it going physically and brought a degree of toughness. I do not think Rawls and those other guys can bring that. There is not the same fear of the running game, but they will be in games, and they will be in the conversation at the end of the year."
3. Wilson's health. Seattle's roster construction has necessitated skimping on the offensive line, which can work as long as Wilson possesses the maneuverability to outrun trouble. The high ankle sprain Wilson suffered in the opener against Miami has clearly diminished his mobility, which could make him even more vulnerable to punishment -- a vicious cycle behind this O-line. "People talk about the Legion of Boom," a veteran coach said, "but what did Seattle ever win before Wilson showed up?"
Outlook
Seattle's defense should continue to keep the Seahawks within striking distance, while the offense inevitably improves from the worst two-game showing of the Wilson era. Wilson's ankle did not stop him from leading the winning drive against the Dolphins. The ankle did not stop Wilson from moving Seattle into scoring position before Michael's fumble on Sunday. And if Wilson can recover more fully during the team's Week 5 bye, this season should wind up looking like its recent predecessors for Seattle. But with Wilson diminished, no established running back to pick up the slack and an offensive line facing early-season mismatches, the road ahead is more treacherous than in seasons past.