Win or wince game

SEATTLE – If this afternoon looks anything like the one that unfolded last Sunday, the partial tear that is the Seattle Seahawks’ 2008 season could look like a severed ligament.

The Seahawks are one loss away from potential disaster, at least when considering the factors involved. During the team’s four-year run as NFC West champions, Seattle has been dominant at home, has made mincemeat of division opponents and has been particularly bullying when it comes to the San Francisco 49ers.

Throw in the sour feeling after last Sunday’s humbling defeat at Buffalo, and today’s game against the 49ers brings a desperation rarely seen in Week 2.

“We made a lot of mistakes,” quarterback Matt Hasselbeck said last Thursday of the Bills game. “We were not very good in a lot of areas. It definitely showed. … We’ve got to be ready to go.”

A 0-2 start does not necessarily mean the season is over – just ask the 2007 New York Giants, who rebounded from back-to-back losses to start last season and went on to win the Super Bowl – but another loss could deflate the hopes of a city starving for some positive sports news.

The Seahawks haven’t lost a home opener since 2002, when Arizona shocked them in their first game at the new downtown stadium as Seattle limped out to a 1-5 start.

This year’s Seahawks have already started on a bad foot once, and they certainly don’t want to do it again in today’s home debut.

“It’s our home opener,” defensive tackle Brandon Mebane said, “and we want to show the NFL that we’re for real.”

Of course, a loss today would not signal the end of the 2008 season. The injury-plagued Seahawks should have several starters coming back in the next couple of weeks, most notably wide receiver Bobby Engram, running back Maurice Morris and starting right tackle Sean Locklear. So there are reasons for the fans to stay optimistic even if Seattle falls to 0-2 for the first time in seven seasons.

“In a 16-game schedule, you can’t get too caught up in exactly where you are after one, two, three, four weeks,” safety Brian Russell said. “It’s a long season, and you have to try to win every one of them.

“We didn’t get it done last week, so we want to be 1-1 after this game. But we don’t want to look behind us. We just want to look forward.”

Today’s opponent has been a soft challenge in recent years, especially at Qwest Field. The 49ers (0-1) have been outscored 112-27 in their past four trips to Seattle, three of which saw them go without a single TD.

Actually, the entire NFC West has been somewhat easy pickings for the Seahawks, who boast a 22-8 record against division opponents over the past five years.