A frustrating finish in Seattle for Drake Maye and the Patriots on opening night.
A heartbreaking finish in Seattle to kick off the season for the Patriots.
There were moments early on where it looked like the New England Patriots were hitting some strides. A 10-play, 77-yard drive that took 5:37 off the clock led to the first points of the 2026 season, and it was Patriots rookie tight end Eli Raridon who was responsible for it. Making the score 7-0, Patriots.
Before that drive, and in the minutes that led to halftime, the game felt like a chess match of two adversaries trying to read one another and make the first move. Eventually, someone had to make a move, and it was the Patriots.
With the Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold walking off to the sidelines gingerly after a Dre'Mont Jones sack, which then led to the QB's absence for the remainder of the game with a hip injury, you had to believe that eventually the game would need to start to open up.
Still, despite one good drive by the Patriots, the Super Bowl rematch was a defensive grudge match by the half, just like what it was between these two teams seven months ago.
In between the first and final whistle, it was a game of injuries. Darnold's absence made the Seahawks' offensive production uneven in the first half as backup Drew Lock entered the game. Lock would find a rhythm by the 4th quarter. As for the Patriots, prominent offseason addition A.J. Brown would head back to the locker room after diving for a pass when Seahawks cornerback Nehemiah Pritchett fell on his ankle.
Penalties also plagued the Seahawks in the second half and would favor the Patriots. An offsides call on a failed tush push on fourth down forced them to punt back to the reigning AFC Champs. For a moment, it looked like the Patriots could use Rhamondre Stevenson to run the clock and get out of town, but we easily forget: the Seahawks are the defending champs for a reason.
Lock would find Cooper Kupp near the Seahawks' end zone for a stunning catch to set the defending champs up, but a penalty would hold them to only three points, making the score 10-3.
Drake Maye would seek out Romeo Doubs down the field at the start of the fourth quarter and would be picked off by Pritchett. What followed was Lock finding Jaxon Smith-Njigba on a 45-yard touchdown that was on a fourth-and-one.
Maye would be picked off again, this time by Julian Love on the ensuing drive, putting the game in jeopardy. The interception came after a frustrating dropped pass by Romeo Doubs.
From that a field goal would give the Seahawks a 13-10 lead with 5:53 remaining in the game.
The Patriots had one more shot to win the game at that point. The ensuing drive saw a 19-yard catch by Mack Hollins and a further down run by Maye to keep the drive alive. But when faced with a fourth and nine on the other side of the two-minute warning, Maye found Hollins again to keep things moving.
Maye and the Patriots would then manage the clock until the 21-second mark of the fourth quarter, when Maye took a shot at the end zone to find Hollins again but was picked for the third time tonight by Josh Jobe to secure the 13-10 win.
Maye finished 23 of 33 for 178 yards with a touchdown and 3 interceptions. The Patriots looked physical for the better part of three quarters against the champs in their house on banner night. McDaniels and Mike Vrabel delivered methodical coaching, weaving into the game plan lessons the team needed to learn from Super Bowl LX.
However, a lot of decision-making from the Patriots' young quarterback are in question, especially with a chance to play for overtime in a close battle with a team that had your number in the Super Bowl.
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