Seahawks 13, Patriots 10: Lock and a Ruthless Secondary Rescue Kickoff Night
Seattle opened its title defense by losing Sam Darnold to a hip injury on the first drive — then picked off Drake Maye three times in the fourth quarter of a Super Bowl LX rematch.
The starting quarterback went down on the opening drive, and the defending champions found a way anyway. Seattle beat New England 13-10 in the NFL's 2026 Kickoff opener at Lumen Field, surviving the early loss of Sam Darnold because its secondary turned the fourth quarter into a turnover clinic.
The injury that changed the night
Darnold lasted six plays. Sacked by Dre'Mont Jones on Seattle's opening drive, he limped off with a hip injury and was ruled out before halftime, according to NBC's Pro Football Talk. Enter Drew Lock, who was exactly what a backup should be: 16-of-22 for 187 yards, a touchdown and a 113.3 passer rating.
Maye's collapse
For three quarters this belonged to New England. Drake Maye capped a 10-play, 77-yard opening drive with a touchdown pass to rookie tight end Eli Raridon, and the Patriots carried a 10-3 lead into the fourth. Then it came apart. Maye threw three interceptions in the final period — to Nehemiah Pritchett, Julian Love and finally Josh Jobe, whose end-zone pick with 26 seconds left ended it. Per NFL.com, Maye finished 0-for-4 with three picks on throws of 20-plus yards, and 22-of-33 for 178 yards overall.
Seattle cashed in. Pritchett's interception set up Jaxon Smith-Njigba's 45-yard fourth-down touchdown to tie it; Love's set up Jason Myers' 26-yard go-ahead field goal. Smith-Njigba, the reigning Offensive Player of the Year, finished with 122 receiving yards — 69 in the fourth quarter.
New England's night was made worse by A.J. Brown, the marquee offseason addition, leaving with an ankle injury after three catches for 26 yards.
What it means
Seattle is 1-0 with a genuine quarterback question: the severity of Darnold's injury will define the champions' next few weeks. New England, which hosts the Steelers on September 20, has a more uncomfortable one — this fourth-quarter unraveling looked a lot like Maye's Super Bowl LX performance against the same defense.