Well, the Patriots’ quest for redemption ends in disaster.
For most of the game, it looked like New England had control. They were up 10-0, but unfortunately, they couldn’t hold onto the lead. And this loss is especially embarrassing considering what happened to Seattle at quarterback.
Sam Darnold went down after hurting his hip on a third-down play and had to go into the medical tent. That looked like it could be a huge problem for the Seahawks, but Drew Lock came into the game and somehow helped save the day.
And it wasn’t just Lock. Jaxon Smith-Njigba also came up clutch when Seattle needed him most.
It also didn’t help that the Patriots lost their best receiver, A.J. Brown, to a high ankle sprain. Drake Maye didn’t have his biggest weapon late in the game, and it definitely showed.
But injuries don’t completely excuse what happened next.
Drake Maye had what might have been the worst stretch of his career, throwing three interceptions in one quarter—and every interception seemed to get worse.
On the first one, Maye threw into double coverage. The ball went off the receiver’s hands and ended up being intercepted by Seattle.
On the second one, Maye once again tried to force the ball into coverage. There was a defender sitting right in front of the throw, and once again, Seattle came away with the turnover.
But the third interception was easily the worst.
The Patriots were already in field-goal range with a chance to tie the game and potentially send it to overtime. All Maye needed to do was protect the football.
Instead, with pressure right in his face, he floated the ball into the air and Josh Jobe came down with the interception.
Game over.
I really don’t know what happened to the Patriots in this game. Losing A.J. Brown obviously hurt, but some of the throws Drake Maye made were just terrible.
And you can’t put all of the blame on the defense either. Even with Sam Darnold out, the defense gave New England plenty of opportunities to win this game.
The Patriots just couldn’t capitalize.
Colby Knows Ball 