Seattle's own preseason opener went the other way, a 17-7 loss to Dallas that came with the caveat that Darnold didn't play. The bigger offseason story up north was retention: the Seahawks locked up cornerback Devon Witherspoon on a four-year, $132 million extension that makes him the highest-paid corner in football, and they're finalizing a deal to add Terrion Arnold to the secondary. Continuity on a defense that allowed the fewest points in the league last season isn't a small thing for a team trying to run it back.
Last season's tape tells two very different stories, even if neither means much by the time these teams actually meet. The Chargers closed out lost 3 of their last 4, including a 16-3 wild-card exit against the Patriots that Jim Harbaugh called "not good enough." Seattle did the opposite, winning 5 straight to close the year, capped by a 29-13 win over that same Patriots team in the Super Bowl. Both rosters will play several more games — preseason and regular season — before Sunday, October 4 rolls around, so treat those numbers as a snapshot of where each team stood in February, not a forecast for October.
The injury boards right now read more like a camp scouting report than a real worry list. Zach Charbonnet remains on Seattle's PUP list with a knee issue and Jason Myers missed a field goal in the preseason opener, but nothing there looks season-altering. For the Chargers, the McConkey and Johnston absences are the closest thing to a storyline, alongside Rashawn Slater sitting out an undisclosed issue during camp. There's plenty of time for both situations to sort themselves out before kickoff.