The New England Patriots’ Week 1 loss to the Seattle Seahawks has raised questions about the offense. While pointing to Drake Maye’s mistakes is fair, the defense should not be absolved of blame.
Although New England’s defense allowed just 13 points in its season-opening loss, those points came late in the game, when Seattle needed them most. The Seahawks scored on their final three possessions after trailing 10-0 for much of the game. Drew Lock took over for an injured Sam Darnold following the opening drive and finished with an efficient stat line of 16-for-22 for 187 yards and a touchdown pass.
The Seahawks’ offense has some talented players, as evidenced by Lock’s touchdown pass to reigning Offensive Player of the Year Jaxon Smith-Njigba. However, the Patriots need their defense to do more than simply limit opposing offenses. They need to create turnovers.
Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel joined The Greg Hill Show to discuss this very issue:
Patriots HC Mike Vrabel joins! After looking at film, what are the key takeaways? Vrabel: "We had opportunities"... "You can't turn the ball over".
We are live at Gillette Stadium #NFL #Patriots #fyp pic.twitter.com/5GuEm6hS6S
— The Greg Hill Show (@TheGregHillShow) September 14, 2026
Christian Gonzalez provided an obvious example of the team’s struggles to create takeaways. The Patriots cornerback dropped an interception in the first half, a play he acknowledged on his Instagram Story that he should have made.
Patriots insider Tom E. Curran joined Jones & Keefe for his usual Tuesday appearance and shared that, over the last 14 games, the Patriots have recorded just eight interceptions. Four of those came against C.J. Stroud during his disastrous AFC Divisional Round performance. The other four came against quarterbacks such as Jarrett Stidham, Quinn Ewers, Joe Flacco, and Brady Cook.
New England’s defense has played well during that stretch, allowing more than 30 points just once, against Josh Allen. However, the team has struggled to take the ball away.
The Patriots controlled much of the game in Seattle on Wednesday night, but things changed when Drake Maye started throwing the ball to the wrong team. The Patriots lost because they turned the ball over, plain and simple. As a team, it is difficult to win when your quarterback is giving the ball away. However, if you are not taking the ball away on the other side of the ball, you have little chance of consistently winning games.
Drew Lock entered the game with a 34-to-28 touchdown-to-interception ratio in his NFL career and has shown himself to be a quarterback who can provide opposing defenses with opportunities to create turnovers.
The Patriots signed Gonzalez to a record-setting extension after bringing in Carlton Davis the previous season and extending nickel cornerback Marcus Jones. They also signed safety Kevin Byard, who led the NFL in interceptions just a season ago while playing for the Chicago Bears.
These are players who should be helping the Patriots create takeaways. In Week 1, they didn’t do so.
While Aaron Rodgers is no longer the player he was when he won MVP awards in Green Bay, he has always been known for taking care of the football. In fact, he owns the lowest interception percentage in NFL history.
That makes Sunday’s matchup against Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers an important opportunity for the Patriots’ secondary. New England has invested heavily in its defensive backs, and now it needs to see results.
The Patriots cannot afford to rely on their defense to simply play fundamentally sound football and force opposing teams to punt all day long. Maye must improve, but the defense must also create turnovers, especially against quarterbacks who have shown a willingness to put the ball in harm’s way.
If New England wants to take the next step and prove that last season was not simply a product of an easy schedule, its secondary needs to turn its investment into production.
