Drake Maye and the New England Patriots relinquished control of their Week 1 matchup against the Seattle Seahawks with three fourth quarter interceptions. We take a closer look at them in this week’s All-22 Review.
The All-22 Review has returned for another season.
In this week’s edition of our previous Patriots Roundtable Podcast segment, we take a closer look at how the New England Patriots relinquished their fourth quarter lead in the season opener against the Seattle Seahawks. Namely, Drake Maye’s three interceptions, which gave Seattle the additional possessions required to gain the lead and secure victory from the jaws of defeat.
Through three quarters of play, Maye performed well — completing 17-of-22 passing attempts (77.3% completion percentage) with 127 passing yards, one touchdown, no interceptions, and an EPA/play of 0.30. That changed in the final period, as Maye’s aggressive nature to push the ball downfield returned. As a result, New England surrendered a 10-3 advantage and fell to the Seahawks, 13-10.
Here’s a detailed breakdown of each play:
Maye’s First Interception
Game Situation: NE 10, SEA 3; 14:27 - 4th; 2nd & 9 at SEA 45
Maye’s first interception of the fourth quarter came on a play that the Patriots had run earlier in the first quarter. Their first attempt to connect with Romeo Doubs was thwarted by pressure from Byron Murphy II and Maye was forced to scramble. He still turned the play into a positive gain and picked up a first down, but the would-be chunk gain to Doubs down the sideline was a missed opportunity. New England returned to the concept late, but this time, Seattle was ready for it. Safety Ronnie Thomas II played with his hips open to the sideline, and cornerback Nehemiah Pritchett trailed Doubs down the field, tipping the pass up into the air and coming down with the takeaway.
Maye’s Second Interception
Game Situation: NE 10, SEA 10; 9:25 - 4th; 3rd & 14 at NE 22
Maye’s second interception of the fourth quarter is the subject of an ongoing debate regarding the coverage shell the Seahawks ran at the third-level. While some have stated that this coverage may have been a “Cover-3 Cloud” look by Seattle, the spacing of the back-end defenders would suggest Seattle’s preferred “Cover-6” shell, or “quarter, quarter, half” to blanket the deep portion of the field. That split allowed safety Julian Love to play close to the hashmark and undercut Maye’s throw, stepping in front of DeMario Douglas to seal the pick. Live, this looked like Cover-2 with the split safeties over-the-top, and that’s likely what Maye thought he saw as well — baiting him into the errant pass. Whether Maye was late in his timing, off target, or purposely trying to put the ball on Douglas’ back-shoulder to shield him from the closing Love is also in question, but the result of the play is not. Maye recorded his second turnover, and this one gave the Seahawks’ their first and only lead of the night.
Maye’s Third Interception
Game Situation: NE 10, SEA 13; 0:26 - 4th; 3rd & 5 at SEA 16
Maye’s final interception of the fourth quarter sealed the victory for Seattle, and put to bed any hopes of a late comeback for a driving New England offense. It came on the heels of a 15-play, 57-yard drive that saw the unit convert on two fourth downs and dig themselves out of multiple long down-and-distance holes. Hunter Henry’s short out route looks to be the primary read, but Maye passes that up because of Love’s anticipation to break on the route. By the time this happens, both Alijah Vera-Tucker and Morgan Moses have allowed pressure in the backfield, and Maye is staring down the barrel of an incoming DeMarcus Lawrence. He lofts the pass off of his back foot, hanging the ball in the air long enough for cornerback Josh Jobe to beat Mack Hollins to the spot and toe-tap his way to a Week 1 win for the reigning Super Bowl Champions.
Looking Ahead
Through 45 minutes of game one, the Patriots controlled the flow of the game against the Seahawks and put themselves in position to win with timely conversions, patience, and an aversion to negative plays. That changed in the fourth quarter, but will serve as an early-season lesson that may help New England avoid a repeat performance.
How do you think Maye and the Patriots will bounce back from a stinging defeat in Week 1? Drop your thoughts in the comments below and join the conversation on Patriots Roundtable.
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