Seattle starting QB Sam Darnold left the game early in the Seahawk's very first drive, and the Pats took a 10-0 lead on a second-quarter passing TD to rookie receiver Eli Raridon and a third-quarter FG. The Patriots' defense held Seattle scoreless in the first half, and then forced them to settle for a FG late in the third despite four plays inside the New England red zone.
Patriot receiver A.J. Brown, the biggest acquisition by New England in the offseason, had to leave the game in the third with an ankle injury and did not return. The timeline for his return is still up in the air. New England teams, incidentally, seem to have the worst luck with new players getting injured in their first game, from Curtis Mead getting hit by a pitch on the wrist in his first game as a Red Sox to Gordon Hayward breaking his leg in his first Celtics' game, not to mention the tragedy of Len Bias.
But the fourth quarter was when last night's catastrophe occurred. New England QB Drake Maye, who finished the game with 23 completions on 33 attempts for 178 passing yards and 47 rushing yards, threw an interception in the opening minute of the fourth that led to a Seattle TD and a 10-10 tie. Another Drake interception that quarter led to a Seattle FG for a 13-10 Seahawk lead.
But no worries. New England got the ball back with 5:50 left to play. The drive started inauspiciously with a 10-yard holding penalty and a sack, but Maye then started a Brady-esque drive from his own 17 to the Seattle 16 in fourteen plays and 5:24 minutes. It was looking like New England was either going to score or at the very least tie the game up with a FG and force OT.
And then Maye committed his third interception of the quarter, throwing it to a Seattle defender in the end zone with 0:26 left to play. The Seahawks took possession and after one short play, the game was over, 13-10. Maye called the INT "unacceptable," and vowed to be better, but the Patriots start the season 0-1. Seattle fans couldn't help but remember Malcolm Butler's 2015 interception of Russell Wilson at the goal line with 0:20 left to play to seal New England's win in Super Bowl XLIX.
One down, but sixteen more games to go. You can rationalize the loss by saying the Pats led most of the way, and losing to the defending Super Bowl champion by only a field goal isn't so bad. But the Patriots were also in that same Super Bowl, and were playing against Seattle's backup QB. The game revealed the weaknesses New England has to work on, from Maye's rashness in the fourth, to the health of receiver A.J. Brown, to a Romeo Doubs' drop of a pin-point accurate pass, to a poor overall rushing performance, and to the o-line's inability to adjust to the Seahawks' blitzes.
The good news is that since they were in the season's earliest premiere game, the Patriots have 10 days for Brown to recover and work on those identified weaknesses. They play the Pittsburgh Steelers back home in Foxborough on Sunday, September 20. The Steelers will host the Atlanta Falcons this Sunday before visiting New England, and should give the Pats a preview of what Pittsburgh's 42-year-old starting QB Aaron Rogers has left in him, if anything.
But mostly, they should be looking at themselves, shore up their o-line, work of their ground game, and nurse Brown back to health.
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