Drake Maye threw three interceptions in a 13-10 loss to the Seahawks on Wednesday night, two of them in the fourth quarter, and as someone who has hated the New England Patriots since before I could read, I have not enjoyed an opening-night loss this much since Brady packed his bags for Tampa. Seattle didn’t just beat the Patriots to open the season. It’s the same team that beat them 29-13 in Super Bowl LX back in February, and Wednesday night it did it again with the lights all the way on.
That’s two title fights, two losses, and New England still hasn’t laid a glove on this team.
This was supposed to be the season the Patriots stopped being a team you had to feel sorry for. Maye spent his first year getting praised for outperforming a receiver corps that had no business making him look competent, and the front office spent the offseason trying to fix that exact problem. They gave Romeo Doubs a four-year, $68 million contract in March, days after cutting Stefon Diggs loose, specifically so their quarterback would stop having to do everything by himself. Wednesday night, in the one game with more eyeballs on it than any other in Week 1, Doubs caught nothing on three targets. That’s the offseason that was supposed to fix this, collapsing in real time on national television.
It got worse in the third quarter. A.J. Brown left the game with a right ankle injury after Nehemiah Pritchett’s knee landed on it while covering him, and Maye lost his best receiver for good with a whole half of season-opener stakes still on the table. His first interception came minutes later, a forced throw into double coverage that Pritchett brought back the other way. The next two came back to back in the fourth quarter, and the second one ended the season opener for good.
Julian Love picked off a pass that floated on Maye with the game still within a score, and two drives later Josh Jobe read the same look and stepped in front of it in the end zone, third-and-5 from Seattle’s own 16, 26 seconds left on the clock. Jobe sealed it, and the tape says everything you need to know:
https://twitter.com/NFL/status/2097889018105184513
Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said afterward that his team never panicked because the plan never needed adjusting, and it’s hard to argue with a defense that got exactly the outcome it wanted twice in the final period. None of this means Maye’s arm fell apart overnight. He still finished 23 of 33 for 178 yards, a touchdown, and 47 yards on the ground, and Jaxon Smith-Njigba looked like the best player on the field for either side, catching eight passes for 122 yards and a 45-yard score that had nothing to do with Maye’s mistakes. Seattle’s defense earned those turnovers. New England didn’t just hand them over.
Seattle’s own quarterback situation wasn’t clean, either. Sam Darnold left with a hip injury on the final play of the opening drive, and Drew Lock had to finish the game in his place, going 16 of 22 for 187 yards and a touchdown without giving the ball back once. A backup walked into a loud season opener and played a mistake-free game. The Patriots’ franchise quarterback threw three picks in the same building.
I had actual money on this game, badly, like always, because that’s the only way I know how to bet, and I have never been happier to lose.
Doubs got paid $68 million to catch nothing, and I have zero interest in feeling bad for a front office that thought money alone fixes a quarterback who can’t get out of his own damn way in the fourth quarter. Maye’s stuck being my problem for a long time, and after Wednesday night, I’ve never been more thrilled about that.
