Patriots blow 10-0 lead as Maye throws three fourth-quarter interceptions
Seattle scored 13 unanswered points to win the opener 13-10. Drake Maye threw a pick on each of New England’s final three drives.
Maye’s three interceptions turn a 10-0 lead into a loss
The bottom line: Maye finished 23 of 33 for 178 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions, all three coming on the Patriots’ last three possessions. The last came from Seattle’s 16-yard line with 32 seconds left, with New England in range for a short field goal that would have forced overtime.
How it came apart:
- First interception. With New England in Seattle territory and near field-goal range, Maye threw deep into double coverage toward Romeo Doubs. The tipped pass was picked off by Nehemiah Pritchett.
- Seattle ties it. Five plays later, Jaxon Smith-Njigba caught a curl on fourth-and-1, slipped past Craig Woodson and ran 45 yards for a touchdown. Tied 10-10 with 11:28 to go.
- Second interception. Doubs bobbled and dropped a wide-open throw that would have gained more than 25 yards. Maye’s next pass, to DeMario Douglas over the middle, was intercepted by Julian Love.
- Seattle takes the lead. A delay-of-game penalty at the New England 3 and a Christian Gonzalez pass breakup on Smith-Njigba held the Seahawks to a Jason Myers field goal. Seattle led 13-10 with 5:50 left.
- Third interception. Maye converted a fourth-and-9 to Mack Hollins and a fourth-and-2 with a scramble to reach the Seattle 16. On the next play he threw off balance toward Hollins in the end zone and Josh Jobe intercepted it to end the game. All three interceptions came in the second half.
The split that defines the night: The Athletic charted Maye at 22 of 25 for 159 yards and a touchdown on throws under 15 yards. All three interceptions came on throws over 15 yards, which the outlet described as forced and unnecessary.
The other side of it: Seattle finished plus-three in the turnover battle and gave up 277 yards. Drew Lock, in for the injured Sam Darnold, went 16 of 22 for 187 yards and a touchdown. Smith-Njigba caught eight passes for 122 yards on 11 targets.
New England fell to 0-1 and took its first regular-season road loss since 2024. The Patriots host Pittsburgh on Sept. 20; Seattle plays at Arizona the same day.
Both teams lost a starter
The bottom line: Darnold left on Seattle’s opening drive with a hip injury and did not return. A.J. Brown left early in the third quarter with an ankle injury in his Patriots debut.
Darnold was hurt on a sack by Dre’Mont Jones and walked off with a limp. Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said afterward that Darnold avoided a hip fracture but that more testing was needed to determine the severity.
Brown was hurt when Pritchett landed on his ankle as Brown ran a slant, and was ruled out after undergoing X-rays. The Athletic wrote that Romeo Doubs became New England’s No. 1 target after he left. He had three catches for 26 yards. See the updated Patriots depth chart for where the receivers stand now.
Rookies produced New England’s only touchdown
The bottom line: Third-round pick Eli Raridon caught the first touchdown of the 2026 NFL season, and second-round pick Gabe Jacas recorded his first career sack.
Raridon’s score, a 2-yard catch and his first in the NFL, capped a 10-play, 77-yard drive and put New England up 7-0 with 9:11 left in the first half. USA Today noted he became the 11th Patriots player to score a touchdown on his first career reception. Per the Patriots, he is the first New England rookie to score in Week 1 since Dont’a Hightower returned a fumble 6 yards for a touchdown at Tennessee. Jacas dropped Lock for a 7-yard loss on the following drive.
New England’s other points came from Andy Borregales, whose 50-yard field goal made it 10-0. That drive survived only because Seattle’s Chazz Surratt ran into punter Mitch Wishnowsky on fourth down, a 15-yard penalty that gave the Patriots a first down.
Our take
Two ways to read this.
One: Maye beat himself. He went 22 of 25 on throws under 15 yards and threw three interceptions on throws over 15. That’s a quarterback refusing what the defense kept handing him, and never more so than with a tying field goal sitting there at the Seattle 16.
Two: he was reaching because the alternative had walked off. Brown went out in the third quarter, Doubs inherited the No. 1 job, and Maye spent the fourth quarter throwing to a thinner group than he started with.
The second reading has a hole in it. Seattle lost its starting quarterback on the opening drive and won anyway.