Patriots fall to Seahawks in demoralizing fashion

SEATTLE — Losing Wednesday night’s season opener to the Seahawks was the likely outcome heading into Week 1 for the Patriots.

Losing to Drew Lock, however? Inconceivable.

But Lock wound up outplaying Patriots quarterback Drake Maye, who finished the game with one touchdown and three interceptions in the 13-10 loss to the Seahawks.

The Patriots appeared content to play conservatively after Seahawks starting quarterback Sam Darnold exited the game with a hip injury on the opening drive, giving way to Lock.

It was good enough to spot the Patriots a 10-0 lead against the reigning Super Bowl LX champions.

Then the game unraveled on Maye and the Patriots. Lock was able to manufacture scoring drives after two straight Maye interceptions.

The Patriots appeared primed to tie late in the game before Maye lofted a pass to Mack Hollins into the end zone. Josh Jobe pulled it in instead, tapping two feet down inbounds for the exclamation point and game-winning play.

Things started ominously for the Patriots’ defense, allowing back-to-back 13-yard plays to begin the game. A false start and third-down sack forced the Seahawks to punt on their opening drive, however. The Patriots brought pressure with a blitz, and outside linebacker Dre’Mont Jones cleaned things up with the sack.

The Patriots matched the Seahawks with a punt on their own when Maye was forced to throw the ball away on third down with free rusher, cornerback Devon Witherspoon, in his face.

Darnold left the game with a hip injury, forcing Lock into the game. After picking up one first down with two straight rushes to start the drive, the Seahawks were forced to punt.

The defensive stands continued with the Seahawks forcing another Patriots punt. The Patriots managed just one first down. Maye completed his first passes of the season to Hollins and A.J. Brown on the drive.

The Patriots’ defense forced yet another punt. Cornerback Christian Gonzalez nearly celebrated his new contract extension with an interception, but he couldn’t haul it in, resulting in a pass breakup for an incompletion on third down.

The Patriots took a 7-0 lead on a 10-play, 77-yard drive to start the second quarter. After gaining 34 yards on a defensive pass interference penalty, when Seahawks cornerback ran through Brown on a flea-flicker attempt, Maye tossed a 2-yard pass for rookie tight end Eli Raridon’s first career touchdown reception.

Costly penalties led to another Seahawks punt. The Seahawks were called for two false starts and an offsides penalty on an attempted tush push. The series saw rookie outside linebacker Gabe Jacas record his first NFL sack.

The Patriots continued to play conservatively and punted after converting two first downs. The Seahawks picked up one first down before the clock ran out in the first half.

The Seahawks helped the Patriots get back on the board to start the first half when linebacker Chazz Surratt took out punter Mitch Wishnowsky’s legs on a punt and was penalized for roughing the kicker. The Patriots crawled to just 5 more yards on the drive before kicker Andy Borregales hit a 50-yard field goal to go up 10-0.

After trading punts, the Seahawks finally got on the board with a 30-yard field goal from Jason Myers to make the score 10-3, cutting into the Patriots’ lead. The Seahawks picked up most of their yards on a 24-yard completion from Lock to wide receiver Cooper Kupp against Patriots slot cornerback Marcus Jones.

Maye was picked off by Seahawks DB Nehemiah Pritchett on the ensuing drive. Maye’s pass to Romeo Doubs was underthrown and broken up by Rodney Thomas. Pritchett picked it off on a tip drill and returned it 30 yards.

Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba looked like the reigning offensive player of the year when he housed a catch from Lock for a 45-yard touchdown, tying the score at 10-10. Patriots safety Craig Woodson whiffed on a tackle during the score.

Maye tossed an even worse interception when he seemingly didn’t see Seahawks safety Julian Love, who easily stepped in front of the pass, on a target to DeMario Douglas. The Patriots’ defense held the Seahawks to a go-ahead field goal on the ensuing drive.

BEST

— OLB Dre’Mont Jones

The veteran outside linebacker immediately showed up with a sack on the Seahawks’ opening drive. Unfortunately, the hit caused Darnold to exit the game. Jones led the team in total defensive pressures.

— OLB Gabe Jacas

Jacas’ preseason had some wondering if the Patriots could rely on him as a backup. He recorded his first career sack on a cleanup play and delivered a tackle for loss. The Seahawks didn’t exploit Jacas as he played under much better control than he showed over the summer.

— TE Eli Raridon

Raridon played more than expected and caught his first career touchdown on a 2-yard pass from Maye.

— CB Christian Gonzalez

It wasn’t Gonzalez’s fault that Smith-Njigba went off for 122 yards and a touchdown on eight catches. Gonzalez was barely tasked to cover Smith-Njigba. He had two pass breakups when targeted.

WORST

— WR Romeo Doubs

The Patriots free-agent pickup had a brutal drop early in the fourth quarter. He was wide open, and Maye lofted him the ball, but it careened off his hands for an incompletion.

— QB Drake Maye

Maye was underthrowing passes in Wednesday’s game. It worked out in his favor early when he threw short of Brown, leading to a defensive pass interference and 2-yard touchdown. It didn’t work out when he underthrew Doubs, leading to a game-changing interception. He threw another pick on the Patriots’ next drive on a target to DeMario Douglas. Seahawks safety Julian Love simply had to step in front of the pass to bring it in. His third pick was lofted to Hollins in the end zone and pulled in by Jobe for the win. It was a worst-possible start for Maye.

— RB Rhamondre Stevenson

The Patriots struggled to run the ball all game, with Stevenson picking up just 51 yards on 18 carries. The offensive line wasn’t effective at opening holes, but Stevenson also wasn’t creating anything on his own.

— LG Alijah Vera-Tucker

Vera-Tucker was supposed to help fix the offensive line. He was the weak link on Wednesday, allowing multiple hurries. He was also flagged on an ineligible man downfield penalty.

WHAT WE LEARNED

— The Patriots were desperately trying to establish the run early with little success. Stevenson has 12 yards on seven carries in the first quarter.

— There was no hesitation to use Jacas, who entered the game on the second defensive series. He rewarded the Patriots with a hustle sack in the second quarter.

— The Patriots matched the Seahawks’ heavy two-tight end sets with big nickel, which meant safety Dell Pettus replaced Jones frequently in nickel defense.

— Hollins also played more than expected, but he was used heavily on run plays. That led to fewer first-half snaps for Doubs and Douglas.