As if unveiling their Tremendous Bowl banner wasn’t reminder sufficient of simply how nice Seattle’s defence could be, the Seahawks served up a prime-time showcase on Wednesday.
Positive, they had been a bit late to the get together, letting Drake Maye and the New England Patriots management the tempo and shut out the hosts till late within the third quarter, lulling the loud crowd at Lumen Subject into extra of a subdued din within the course of. However as soon as the Seahawks defence confirmed up, they actually confirmed out, incomes Seattle a season-opening 13-10 victory within the course of.
Listed below are our key takeaways from what was a dramatic Tremendous Bowl rematch:
Seahawks defence makes Maye pay
For the primary three quarters, Patriots appeared intent on spoiling the Seahawks’ get together in Seattle. With a fortified offensive line holding off a move rush that wreaked havoc on Maye & Co. again in February, the Tremendous Bowl losers seemed like a squad intent on studying from its errors.
After struggling to get to Maye within the first half, Seattle regrouped and sacked him thrice within the second. The Seahawks intercepted him thrice within the fourth quarter to sharply shift the sport’s momentum. Whereas the primary choose can’t be blamed solely on Maye — the lengthy move bounced off receiver Romeo Doubs’ palms and was plucked by Nehemiah Pritchett deep in Seattle’s zone — the second and third actually can.
Maye appeared rattled by the sudden onslaught of Seattle’s stifling defence, and began forcing performs and placing the ball in hurt’s method — one thing we noticed lots from him on the Tremendous Bowl stage.
The nail within the coffin Wednesday night time was a red-zone move to Mack Hollins picked off by a toe-tapping Josh Jobe. It’s a throw Maye by no means ought to have tried — particularly in a late-game state of affairs in Seattle, when the proper play was to easily arrange a game-tying area objective and push for additional time. Praised for his poise by way of the primary two seasons of his spectacular younger profession, Maye’s mishap stands out and can absolutely be a launching level for lots extra classes within the season forward.
Darnold’s early departure brings massive questions
The Seahawks ran onto the sector with goals of chasing a second straight championship, however the night time shortly devolved into extra of a nightmare for the defending champs when, simply 5 snaps into the sport, quarterback Sam Darnold limped off the sector on the finish of the sport’s first drive.
Not lengthy after gingerly strolling to the locker room, he was dominated out for the rest of the sport attributable to a hip harm. The seriousness isn’t but identified, although Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald stated the group had dominated out a fracture.
Drew Lock was stable in aid Wednesday night time, posting a tidy 187 yards on 16 completions for one landing and no interceptions. Whereas his spectacular effort helped the Seahawks safe the comeback victory, any extended absence for the membership’s QB1 undoubtedly spells hassle for Seattle.
Main receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba dominated the goal share Wednesday, catching eight of 11 passes for 122 yards and a landing, and linked with Lock on a powerful 45-yard catch-and-run to tie issues up late.
Brown’s harm spells hassle for Patriots offence
The harm bug got here for the Patriots, too. Lower than two minutes into the second half of what was on the time a 7-0 sport favouring New England, the guests misplaced star huge receiver A.J. Brown to an ankle harm.
The most important acquisition of New England’s low season barely received an opportunity to make his mark on this sport earlier than taking place, catching three of 4 targets for 26 yards. His presence did, nonetheless, open the sector up for others to shine — like rookie tight finish Eli Raridon, who scored the primary TD of the 2026 season on a brief move from Maye within the second quarter.
New England’s offensive implosion started shortly after Brown was dominated out for the rest of Wednesday’s matchup, and whereas his absence isn’t the only contributor to the late-game collapse, it’s solely possible we’d be speaking about Maye’s sport in a extra flattering gentle had Brown been accessible. Like Darnold’s, Brown’s standing might be intently monitored within the days to come back.
