Week 1 recap: Seahawks 13, Patriots 10
The banner went up, and then the plan went out the window on the first drive. Sam Darnold was sacked by Dre’Mont Jones on Seattle’s opening possession, walked off with what the team first called a hip injury, and did not come back. Seattle trailed 10-0 into the second half, had 13 first downs to New England’s 19, went 2 of 11 on third down, and won anyway.
How it happened
New England scored the game’s only touchdown before the fourth quarter, a two-yard throw from Drake Maye to Eli Raridon at the end of a 10-play, 77-yard drive, and Andy Borregales added a 50-yard field goal early in the third. Jason Myers got Seattle on the board from 30 yards with 3:13 left in the third, and then the defense took the game.
Nehemiah Pritchett intercepted Maye after Rodney Thomas II, elevated from the practice squad that afternoon, tipped the ball. Five plays later Seattle faced fourth-and-1 at the New England 45, and rather than run for the yard, Drew Lock threw it to Jaxon Smith-Njigba for 45 and the tying touchdown with 11:28 to play. Julian Love intercepted Maye on the next possession, and Myers hit from 26 for the lead with 5:50 left. New England drove once more and Josh Jobe ended it with a toe-tapping interception in the end zone.
Three takeaways, all in the fourth quarter, all by the secondary that spent the week short-handed. Ty Okada was out and Nick Emmanwori was inactive, so the group was Love, Pritchett, Jobe, Devon Witherspoon, Thomas and AJ Finley, who was signed to the 53 that morning.
The numbers
| Seahawks | Patriots | |
|---|---|---|
| Total yards | 285 | 277 |
| First downs | 13 | 19 |
| Third down | 2 of 11 | 5 of 16 |
| Turnovers | 0 | 3 |
| Time of possession | 25:43 | 34:17 |
| Penalties | 10 for 98 | 7 for 50 |
| Red zone | 0 of 2 | 1 of 2 |
Lock finished 16 of 22 for 187 yards and the touchdown, with no interceptions and no sacks that mattered. Smith-Njigba caught eight for 122 and the score, the same player Christian Gonzalez held to 27 yards in February. Jadarian Price carried 10 times for 52 yards in his debut, with George Holani and Emanuel Wilson adding 32 on 10 more. Maye went 23 of 33 for 178, one touchdown and the three interceptions. Ernest Jones IV had 13 tackles and Leonard Williams the lone Seattle sack.
What decided it
Our preview said the game would turn on New England’s interior line against Seattle’s front. It turned on Seattle’s secondary against Maye, which is a different way of saying the same thing: the Patriots moved the ball for three quarters and could not finish, and the three throws that went the wrong way came under a rush that never let Maye settle. Seattle won the Super Bowl with three takeaways and 27 carries from Kenneth Walker. It won this one with three takeaways and a backup quarterback, and Mike Macdonald’s line afterward was that nobody panicked: “We still liked our plan. We didn’t need to change what we were doing.”
On Lock, Macdonald was direct. “Thought Drew played great. Ball was never in jeopardy. He was aggressive when needed.” He also said Lock “operates like a starter does in terms of preparation,” which matters more this week than it did last week.
The honest ledger: 10 penalties for 98 yards, nothing in two red-zone trips, and 2 of 11 on third down are not numbers that beat Arizona on the road. The defense bought the offense a week to figure out what it is without Darnold.
Darnold, and what comes next
Thursday’s tests ruled out a fracture; Monday the team called it “a very unique soft-tissue injury” to the glute and said the hip joint is unaffected. There is no firm timetable. The club’s own framing is that he should not be out long; outside reports range from a possible Week 3 return to four to six weeks. Lock starts in Glendale on Sunday, and Jalen Milroe is the backup.
Emmanwori has, in Macdonald’s words, a real shot at getting back this week. The first practice report of the week comes Wednesday afternoon, and the injury table updates as each one lands. The Week 2 preview covers the Cardinals, who did something nobody expected in Los Angeles, and the game day guide has the broadcast, the line, and where to watch in Seattle and in the Valley.