The Seattle Seahawks opened their title defense with almost every reason for the night to go wrong.
Starting quarterback Sam Darnold left on the opening drive with a hip injury. Seattle fell behind the New England Patriots 10-0 early in the third quarter. The offense had not found the end zone, and backup quarterback Drew Lock was operating with limited first-team practice time.
Then the game turned. Lock found Jaxon Smith-Njigba for a 45-yard fourth-quarter touchdown, Jason Myers kicked the go-ahead 26-yard field goal, and Seattle’s defense intercepted Drake Maye three times in a 13-10 comeback win at Lumen Field.
For a team coming off a championship season, the most encouraging part of Week 1 was not polish. It was survival.
Drew Lock gave Seattle exactly what a backup quarterback has to provide
Lock did not enter the opener with a normal starter’s week of preparation. Seattle’s own postgame coverage emphasized how few first-team snaps a backup typically receives once the regular season begins. Darnold’s injury forced Lock into the game immediately, and the offense needed time to adjust.
Seattle trailed 7-0 at halftime and 10-0 after New England added a 50-yard field goal in the third quarter. The Seahawks finally found a rhythm when Lock began leaning into the matchup Seattle could trust most: Smith-Njigba against the Patriots secondary.
The decisive offensive play came in the fourth quarter. Lock hit Smith-Njigba for a 45-yard touchdown that tied the game at 10. It was the kind of play a backup quarterback has to make when a game offers only a few clean chances. Lock did not need to replace Darnold’s entire role. He needed to stay composed long enough for Seattle’s best playmakers and defense to create a path back.
That path eventually led to Myers’ 26-yard field goal and the first lead of the night.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba immediately looked like Seattle’s offensive constant
Smith-Njigba finished with eight catches for 122 yards and Seattle’s only touchdown. That production matters because the quarterback situation changed almost immediately, yet Seattle still had one offensive answer that traveled across both game plans.
The 45-yard touchdown was the headline play, but the broader value was reliability. Lock repeatedly returned to Smith-Njigba when Seattle needed chunk yardage or a clean completion. For an offense trying to stabilize itself after losing its starter, having a receiver who can become the obvious solution without becoming predictable is a major advantage.
The Seahawks also entered 2026 with the pressure that follows a championship. Opponents will spend the season measuring themselves against Seattle. A receiver capable of winning even when the offensive structure changes gives the Seahawks a margin for error that most teams do not have.
Seattle’s defense turned a bad offensive night into a winnable game
The Seahawks did not win because the offense suddenly became dominant. They won because the defense kept the score within reach until the offense could recover.
Maye completed 23 of 33 passes for 178 yards and a touchdown, but Seattle intercepted him three times. Nehemiah Pritchett produced one of the momentum-changing takeaways when he picked off a deep pass in the second half. Julian Love added another interception, and Josh Jobe sealed the game with an interception in the end zone.
Those turnovers were the difference between a frustrating opener and a comeback. New England finished with 277 net yards, only eight fewer than Seattle, and controlled the ball for more than 34 minutes. The Patriots had enough possession and field position to win. Seattle’s defense repeatedly erased those advantages.
The game also reinforced why Seattle can survive uneven offensive stretches. Championship-level teams do not need every unit to play its best game at the same time. They need one unit to keep the game alive while another finds an answer.
New England let a 10-point lead disappear
The Patriots had a clear opportunity to begin the season with a road win over the defending champions. Drake Maye led a 77-yard touchdown drive in the second quarter that ended with a two-yard scoring pass to Eli Raridon, then New England extended the lead to 10-0 with Andy Borregales’ 50-yard field goal.
From there, the offense stopped converting possession into points. The three interceptions were especially damaging because Seattle was playing without its starting quarterback and did not have much offensive margin. New England did not need a huge second half. It needed to protect the football and force Lock to drive the field repeatedly.
Instead, the Patriots gave Seattle short fields and extra chances. FSN’s broader 2026 Patriots outlook framed this season as a test of whether New England has moved beyond rebuilding into real contention. Week 1 offered evidence that the roster can compete with elite teams, but it also showed how quickly turnovers can erase that progress.
New England’s team page will be worth watching as the season develops, because the Patriots now have to separate a promising defensive effort from an offensive finish that cost them a winnable game.
Sam Darnold’s health becomes Seattle’s immediate Week 2 question
Seattle received encouraging initial news on Darnold’s hip after the game, but the opener still demonstrated why his availability matters. The Seahawks can win with Lock in relief, especially when the defense produces takeaways, but playing an entire game around a backup creates a different offensive ceiling.
The positive for Seattle is that it learned something useful before Week 2. Lock can enter cold and manage a pressure game. Smith-Njigba remains a matchup-changing receiver. The defense can create turnovers when the offense is struggling. Those are real structural strengths.
The Seahawks did not look invincible in the opener. They looked resilient, which may be more valuable over a 17-game season.
What the opener changes for both teams
Seattle leaves Week 1 with a win and proof that its championship identity survived an immediate crisis. Losing the starting quarterback on the first drive and falling behind by 10 would have been enough to sink plenty of teams. The Seahawks instead leaned on defense, a star receiver and a prepared backup.
New England leaves with the opposite lesson. The Patriots were good enough to control much of the night, but not clean enough to finish it. A contender cannot assume it will keep receiving chances after three interceptions.
Week 1 rarely tells the whole truth about an NFL season. It did reveal something important about Seattle: when the game broke away from the plan, the Seahawks still knew how to win.