THE CHEAP SEATS with STEVE CAMERON: Seattle finds its way sans Sam

If you tuned in to see Super Bowl II between the Seahawks and Pats, well, sorry.

Just about everything was different as those two teams knocked heads in the season opener Wednesday night.

The Hawks lost their quarterback after five plays.

The Pats' quarterback lost his mind.

The only thing that wound up the same was a Seattle win — a strange comeback 13-10 victory that required QB2 Drew Lock to complete 16 of 22 passes, and New England's Drake Maye to chuck three interceptions.

The last of that trio was a needless lob to the end zone that wound up as a fantastic, tip-toe pick by cornerback Josh Jobe.

You can make a case that each team should have lost this crazy game, which proved that maybe starters should see some action in exhibition games, after all.

There were countless plays on which both teams looked like they were still wandering through summer workouts.

The Pats were only competitive because the Hawks served up four or five gift penalties, including a pass interference in the end zone, roughing the punter with no reason to do it, and lining up offside (tackle Abe Lucas' hand) on a "Brotherly Shove" sneak when the Seahawks were inside the New England 5-yard line.

ALL THOSE screw-ups kept the Patriots in control most of the way and ultimately forced the Hawks to let Lock sling the ball around Lumen Field after Darnold's injury.

Word from the medical staff was that Sam suffered a problem with his hip on a sack on the first drive of the game.

It was announced fairly quickly that Darnold wouldn't be back — at least not in this game — and the howling crowd changed its tone to gasps when the quarterback was led away.

Lock has NFL experience, by the way, and no one has ever questioned his arm.

He looked predictably rusty through the first two quarters, but he was launching missiles throughout the second half.

The classic saw him step up in a crowd and zing the ball to Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who exploded away from three defenders to complete a 45-yard TD.

The Seahawks' offense, matter of fact, looked sharp — a good sign with all the worry about Brian Fleury taking over from Klint Kubiak as offensive coordinator.

The Hawks even let Lock throw a couple to fullback special teams captain Brady Russell, who played full-time last season and never touched the ball.

Rookie Jadarian Price looked every bit the part, gouging out 52 yards on 10 carries, and the league player of the year was a star on stage as usual — JSN caught eight balls for 122 yards.

YEP, THE mistakes (Seattle had 99 yards in penalties) gave the Pats a legit chance to win this game.

The Hawks' "Dark Side" defense came to life when it mattered, however, and started forcing Maye to make off-balance throws.

The throw that finished the game would make you wonder whether Maye, for all his talent, can avoid panic under pressure.

Broadcaster Cris Collinsworth put it this way: "I can't believe I saw that throw."

Lollypop toss or not, Jobe made just a sensational catch — getting both feet inbounds when his body and the momentum of the throw were headed out of bounds.

It was simply a magnificent play, and it won the game at a point that New England looked ready to score.

The Pats were set for a game-tying field goal, at least, and they still were shooting for a winning touchdown.

They got nothing.

The Seahawks, meanwhile, managed to continue a habit.

They just win.

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Longtime journalist Steve Cameron writes "The Cheap Seats" for The Press three times each week.