Seahawks looking for a fast start

The Seattle Seahawks have had a nasty habit of starting slowly. If their debut at Atlanta last weekend is any indication, Pete Carroll and Russell Wilson should have the motors revving from the jump.

Few teams were more impressive than Seattle as the NFL season began. Baltimore, Kansas City and Green Bay — all 2019 powerhouses — belong in the same conversation, yet those clubs didn’t suffer from the malaise that often forced the Seahawks to play from behind.

If Seattle has put such issues behind it, then Cam Newton and the New England Patriots have quite the challenge in a second straight delicious Sunday night matchup.

“Really, I see it playing to our strengths,” Carroll says, and his team showed plenty of strength in most areas in the opener.

“And if you don’t understand what your strengths are, then you’re inconsistent, you don’t know how to recover. You don’t know how to adjust and adapt. And regardless of which offensive or defensive play you call, it’s how you can fix problems and solve your challenges and stuff.

“And if you know your philosophy then you have a way to figure out your answers. If you don’t have a good, solid philosophy and a good baseline, then you’re shooting from the hip all the time and you’re going to be up and down, you know?”

All of New England knows that a victory at Seattle, even with the 12th Man silenced by the coronavirus pandemic, would be a strong sign the Patriots are in good hands with their new quarterback.

“This was not the same offense we’ve seen in the past,” Carroll says of the Patriots. “They’ve obviously done a lot of work to the tailor it to him and make sure he’s a big part of.”

Week 2 began Thursday night with Cleveland’s 35-30 home victory over Cincinnati. Baker Mayfield threw two touchdown passes, Nick Chubb ran for two scores and 124 yards and the Browns gave coach Kevin Stefanski his first NFL victory on the NFL’s 100th birthday.

HALL OF FAMER WILSON, 82, DIES

Larry Wilson, a former Cardinals safety and member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, has died. He was 82. Wilson died Thursday evening, according to a news release from the team.

Wilson spent more than 43 years in the Cardinals’ organization as a player and an executive.

“For more than 40 years, Larry Wilson played a remarkable role in the history of the Cardinals and National Football League as a Hall of Fame player and team executive,” NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement. “While he will be recognized for his toughness and excellence on the field and his many contributions to the Cardinals organization, we will also remember Larry as loyal, humble and kind to everyone he met. Larry enriched the lives of many players and colleagues around the league.”

A seventh-round draft pick out of Utah in 1960, Wilson played 13 seasons with the Cardinals. He was an eight-time Pro Bowl selection and was a firstteam All Pro five times. Wilson was voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame and was on both the NFL’s 75th and 100th anniversary teams. He holds franchise records with 52 career interceptions and 800 interception return yards. His seven straight games with an interception in 1966 are second-most in NFL history.

ELSEWHERE

• Rams: A person with knowledge of the deal says receiver Robert Woods has agreed to a four-year contract extension worth up to $68 million with Los Angeles. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the Rams announced the deal Friday without revealing the financial terms.

Woods’ extension includes a guaranteed $32 million, and the veteran receiver is now signed through the 2025 season. Woods is the third major contributor to the Rams to agree to a contract extension in the past two weeks. Cornerback Jalen Ramsey got a five-year, $105 million extension last week, while Woods’ counterpart, fellow 1,100-yard receiver Cooper Kupp, got a threeyear deal worth $48 million.

Woods is coming off two highly productive seasons for the Rams with 2,353 total yards receiving. He has been a major component of Los Angeles’ prolific offense under coach Sean McVay since they joined the franchise together in 2017.