Seattle Seahawks defeat New England Patriots 13-10 after Drake Maye throws three fourth-quarter interceptions

Banner night and early injuries

The Seattle Seahawks opened the 2026 NFL season on Wednesday night at Lumen Field by raising their Super Bowl LX championship banner before hosting the New England Patriots in a rematch of February's title game. The celebration turned tense on the opening drive when Seattle starting quarterback Sam Darnold left the field with a hip injury following a third-down sack by Dre'Mont Jones. Darnold completed one pass for 13 yards before entering the medical tent and heading to the locker room. Seattle head coach Mike Macdonald confirmed that preliminary testing showed no fractures. Backup quarterback Drew Lock took over the offense for the remainder of the contest. New England suffered an injury setback of its own early in the third quarter when wide receiver A.J. Brown twisted his right ankle after Seattle cornerback Nehemiah Pritchett landed on him during an incomplete pass.

New England builds a ten-point lead

New England controlled the score through the first half and into the third quarter. Following a pass interference penalty against Josh Jobe on a deep pass intended for Brown, Patriots quarterback Drake Maye threw a two-yard touchdown pass to rookie tight end Eli Raridon in the second quarter. The Patriots extended their advantage to 10-0 after the break when a roughing the punter penalty against Seattle's Chazz Surratt kept a drive alive, allowing Andy Borregales to convert a 50-yard field goal. Seattle finally scored late in the third quarter when Jason Myers kicked a field goal, capping a drive that included a 24-yard diving catch from Cooper Kupp.

Fourth-quarter turnover barrage

Seattle's defense shifted the contest in the fourth quarter by forcing three interceptions on New England's final three possessions. Early in the quarter, Maye attempted a downfield pass that deflected off Rodney Thomas II into the hands of Pritchett for his first career interception. On the ensuing fourth-and-1 play, Lock connected with Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who ran through the New England secondary for a 45-yard touchdown to tie the score 10-10. On New England's next drive, Seattle safety Julian Love intercepted Maye, setting up a 26-yard field goal from Myers that gave the Seahawks a 13-10 lead.

Seattle seals the rematch

Maye drove New England back into scoring position in the final minute, converting two fourth downs to reach Seattle's 16-yard line with 21 seconds remaining. Instead of kicking a tying field goal to force overtime, New England threw toward the end zone on third down, where cornerback Josh Jobe intercepted Maye's pass near the sideline with both feet in bounds to secure the win. Maye finished 23 of 33 for 178 yards, one touchdown, and three interceptions, becoming only the second player in eight seasons to throw three fourth-quarter interceptions with his team tied, leading, or down one score.

I was trying to get rid of it, and I realized Mack was back there in the back and I didn't put enough on it to get it out. It was unacceptable.

Seattle secured its 11th consecutive victory dating back to the previous season, while Lock finished with 187 passing yards and one touchdown in relief.

I want to give our team a lot of credit because you know things weren't really going where we wanted. We didn't panic. We still liked our plan. We didn't need to change what we were doing or anything like that. We just we wanted to stick to what we were doing, and the guys were just really excited to go back out there and play.

Week 1 continues with the Los Angeles Rams facing the San Francisco 49ers in Melbourne, Australia.