As if unveiling their Super Bowl banner wasn’t reminder enough of just how great Seattle’s defence can be, the Seahawks served up a prime-time showcase on Wednesday.
Sure, they were a little late to the party, letting Drake Maye and the New England Patriots control the pace and shut out the hosts until late in the third quarter, lulling the loud crowd at Lumen Field into more of a subdued din in the process. But once the Seahawks defence showed up, they really showed out, earning Seattle a season-opening 13-10 victory in the process.
Here are our key takeaways from what was a dramatic Super Bowl rematch:
Seahawks defence makes Maye pay
For the first three quarters, Patriots appeared intent on spoiling the Seahawks’ party in Seattle. With a fortified offensive line holding off a pass rush that wreaked havoc on Maye & Co. back in February, the Super Bowl losers looked like a squad intent on learning from its mistakes.
After struggling to get to Maye in the first half, Seattle regrouped and sacked him three times in the second. The Seahawks intercepted him three times in the fourth quarter to sharply shift the game’s momentum. While the first pick can’t be blamed entirely on Maye — the long pass bounced off receiver Romeo Doubs’ hands and was plucked by Nehemiah Pritchett deep in Seattle’s zone — the second and third certainly can.
Maye appeared rattled by the sudden onslaught of Seattle’s stifling defence, and started forcing plays and putting the ball in harm’s way — something we saw plenty from him on the Super Bowl stage.
The nail in the coffin Wednesday night was a red-zone pass to Mack Hollins picked off by a toe-tapping Josh Jobe. It’s a throw Maye never should have attempted — especially in a late-game situation in Seattle, when the right play was to simply set up a game-tying field goal and push for overtime. Praised for his poise through the first two seasons of his impressive young career, Maye’s mishap stands out and will surely be a launching point for plenty more lessons in the season ahead.
Darnold’s early departure brings big questions
The Seahawks ran onto the field with dreams of chasing a second straight championship, but the night quickly devolved into more of a nightmare for the defending champs when, just five snaps into the game, quarterback Sam Darnold limped off the field at the end of the game’s first drive.
Not long after gingerly walking to the locker room, he was ruled out for the remainder of the game due to a hip injury. The seriousness isn’t yet known, though Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald said the team had ruled out a fracture.
Drew Lock was solid in relief Wednesday night, posting a tidy 187 yards on 16 completions for one touchdown and no interceptions. While his impressive effort helped the Seahawks secure the comeback victory, any prolonged absence for the club’s QB1 undoubtedly spells trouble for Seattle.
Leading receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba dominated the target share Wednesday, catching eight of 11 passes for 122 yards and a touchdown, and connected with Lock on an impressive 45-yard catch-and-run to tie things up late.
Brown’s injury spells trouble for Patriots offence
The injury bug came for the Patriots, too. Less than two minutes into the second half of what was at the time a 7-0 game favouring New England, the visitors lost star wide receiver A.J. Brown to an ankle injury.
The biggest acquisition of New England’s off-season barely got a chance to make his mark on this game before going down, catching three of four targets for 26 yards. His presence did, however, open the field up for others to shine — like rookie tight end Eli Raridon, who scored the first TD of the 2026 season on a short pass from Maye in the second quarter.
New England’s offensive implosion began shortly after Brown was ruled out for the remainder of Wednesday’s matchup, and while his absence isn’t the sole contributor to the late-game collapse, it’s entirely likely we’d be talking about Maye’s game in a more flattering light had Brown been available. Like Darnold’s, Brown’s status will be closely monitored in the days to come.