Seahawks' Drew Lock Reflects On 'Awesome Night' vs. Patriots

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Drew Lock wouldn't have been expecting to see the field at all in the season opener against the New England Patriots, let alone play a huge role.

But that is exactly what he did in the 13-10 win at Lumen Field.

With Sam Darnold going down after just five plays with a hip injury, the backup quarterback was thrust into the action.

While it took Lock and the offense a little while to get rolling, they found their groove, with Drew finishing his night 16-for-22 for 187 yards and a touchdown pass to Jaxon Smith-Njigba that put Seattle up late.

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Then a defensive stand that saw Mike Macdonald's defense snag an interception as the Patriots were close to the red zone ended the contest, and Lock, the team's backup who has a knack for winning games, did it again, against all odds.

"It was a blast again," Lock said. "So proud of everybody around me on the offensive side of the ball. Can't say enough about the defense forcing the turnovers. Man, it was such an awesome night."

It can be hard for a backup quarterback to step in as Lock did and be effective straight away, simply because they don't get the reps in practice. They are for the starter.

So, it was always going to be a tough assignment for Lock to step into Darnold's shoes, but he did so with aplomb.

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No, it wasn't perfect and far from smooth, but Lock made plays when he had to, and that is the name of the game. But what allowed him to step into Darnold's role and produce a really steady performance against the Patriots?

"My biggest thing is always just drawing every play as much as I can, literally drawing," Lock said. "Whiteboard, I've got one next to my bed, I'll do it at night. I'll do it in the morning, that's just kind of been my thing, being able to visualize it so that when I read it out, it's just there in my head because of the lack of reps, you don't get to physically do it.

"I got to be able to draw it from somewhere. And no pun intended, drawing it helps me draw it from somewhere."

So, Lock literally draws out the plays in the playbook to help him see what the vision is.

It is a little unconventional, but there's no arguing with the results, as Lock was steady in the face of huge adversity, and Seattle managed to outlast the Patriots in what was a dour defensive struggle.