Revenge is a dish best served cold. When the Seahawks offered the Patriots a lukewarm plate to avenge their Super Bowl 60 loss in the season-opener, Drake Maye and his team tripped over themselves on their way to the dining room.
It looked like the worst the Patriots would have to weather during the first half of the 13-10 loss were jokes about once again facing a backup quarterback after catching injury luck against their opponents on the way to the Super Bowl last year. A sack from Dre’Mont Jones on Sam Darnold took the starting quarterback out after Seattle’s first drive, and backup Drew Lock was in the driver’s seat for the rest of the game.
Maye settled in and looked to have his sea legs against the tsunami of pressure the Seahawks’ defensive front brought early. Left tackle Will Campbell looked night and day compared to his performance in the Super Bowl, a game during which he played on a torn meniscus. Rookies Eli Raridon and Gabe Jacas made immediate impacts with a touchdown and a sack, respectively. The Patriots were up 7-0 and the so-called “12” were quiet as a church mouse.
Somebody must have untied their shoelaces after halftime. The likely culprit? Seahawks cornerback Nehemiah Pritchett, who landed unfortunately on star receiver A.J. Brown’s ankle, sending him to the locker room for X-Rays after just a half and change of fulfilling his childhood dream of playing for the Patriots. Pritchett continued to be the boogeyman for the Patriots. Pritchett then snagged the first of three picks thrown by Maye in the second half.
At least $135-million-man Christian Gonzalez did his job against the Super Bowl champs, (again), preventing a grab from Jaxon Smith-Njigma that could have easily been a game-sealing touchdown in the fourth quarter. The Seahawks’ defense earned Lock and his crew multiple shots at the endzone after picking off Maye for the second time, on a throw intended for DeMario Douglas on a crossing route. Gonzalez’s pass break-up helped the Patriots defense hold Seattle to a field goal during what ended up being an embarrassing red zone series for Lock’s offense. So, good for him, and once again, good for the Patriots in paying him. He continues to prove he’s worth his salt.
Both teams looked rustier than a junkyard car after sitting their starters for all three preseason games. But where Seattle shot themselves in the foot early and often with dumb and costly penalties, the Patriots unraveled under the mounting pressure from Mike MacDonald’s defense and their own offense’s mistakes, including a mind-boggling drop from Romeo Doubs on a perfect Maye pass.
Maye put the nail in the coffin of any comeback with a groan-inducing jump ball to Mack Hollins in the endzone. The Patriots were in field goal range to push for overtime. Seattle cornerback Josh Jobe came up with the rock and the ball game was over.
There’s plenty else to critique from this loss against an elite defense, but barely-par offense led by a guy who played 10 games over the last five years. Was Josh McDaniels too conservative in his play-calling, particularly in the first half, when he turned to running back Rhamondre Stevenson time and again despite Maye being the only player able to generate anything with his legs against Seattle’s formidable front?
And what to make of Maye, who played his worst situational game since his rookie season? There’s no shoulder injury to serve as a clear explanation for his poor play. The MVP runner-up looked overwhelmed and desperate in the second half. The pick he threw to Douglas was similar to a few he threw in practices over the summer, but he never suffered the consequences of that throw in a preseason game. Would that experience have made a difference? Impossible to say, but with Brown off the field, Maye clearly felt the pressure of long yardage. He was able to lead a march down the field for the game’s final two-minute drill, but when it mattered most, he didn’t read the moment for what it offered.
“I just stopped being patient. That was the big thing,” a disappoint Maye said at the podium after the loss.
“It’s a long season, we have to hold our head up high,” head coach Mike Vrabel said. “We have nothing but the utmost confidence in him.”
One game is obviously no reason to shake the faith in Maye, but it was hardly the palate cleanser the Patriots wanted after February.
