The Seattle Seahawks turned three fourth-quarter interceptions of Drake Maye into a 13-10 victory over the New England Patriots, overcoming an early hip injury to starter Sam Darnold. Backup Drew Lock orchestrated two late scoring drives that produced the go-ahead points and a defensive play in the end zone sealed the result for the home team.
The Story in Pictures
Darnold left the opening possession after taking a third-down sack from Dre’Mont Jones and went to the sideline medical tent before returning to the locker room. Lock, who threw only three passes last season, replaced him, but Seattle struggled to move the ball for much of the game and was held to a single field goal through three quarters.
The Patriots built a 10-0 lead after Drake Maye connected with rookie Eli Raridon for a two-yard touchdown following a play in which Josh Jobe was flagged for pass interference on AJ Brown. A second Patriots score came on a 50-yard field goal by Andy Borregales after Chazz Surratt was penalised for roughing the punter at the start of the second half.
Seattle began its comeback with a third-quarter field goal and then tied the game when Lock completed a 45-yard pass to Jaxon Smith-Njigba on fourth-and-1, a drive set up by an interception from Nehemiah Pritchett. On the next Patriots possession, Julian Love intercepted Maye and Jason Myers converted a 26-yard field goal to put the Seahawks ahead 13-10.
Maye threw three interceptions in the fourth quarter, but he still led New England into position late enough to threaten a tying score. The final threat was ended when Josh Jobe made a toe-tapping interception in the end zone to halt the Patriots in the closing minute and preserve the win on a night the Seahawks raised last season’s Super Bowl banner.
The victory left the Seahawks celebrating in front of a boisterous home crowd and ensured the banner-raising evening ended with a win. The game was the third Super Bowl rematch played in Week 1, a tie to a string of early-season revisits that last occurred in 2016 when Denver faced Carolina following its title season.
