Seahawks Stop Cam Newton On The Goal Line, Escaping With 35-30 Win Over Patriots
BOSTON (CBS) -- The 2020 Patriots have been handed their first loss of the season. And it came in unbelievably dramatic fashion.
It was an entertaining back-and-forth contest on Sunday Night Football, but Russell Wilson's Seahawks proved to be a little bit too much for the Patriots to handle, with Seattle winning 35-30 -- and winning by a yard.
The Seahawks faced a third-and-1 from their own 31-yard line with 1:55 left in the fourth quarter, holding on to a five-point lead. Seattle dialed up a deep pass, which fell incomplete, leading to a punt that gave New England a chance to win the game with a late touchdown drive.
Cam Newton and Co. took over at their own 19-yard line and they drove all the way to the Seattle 1-yard line. But Newton's rushing attempt from the goal line was unsuccessful, and the Seahawks came away with the narrowest of victories.
Newton completed 30 of his 44 passes for 397 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Newton also rushed for two more touchdowns.
Wilson completed 21 of his 28 passes for 288 yards with five touchdowns and one interception.
The Patriots scored first when Greg Olsen couldn't make a simple catch, deflecting the ball into the air. Devin McCourty swooped in and picked it off, returning it 43 yards for a touchdown just 1:12 into the game.
Wilson and the Seahawks responded, though, with a 13-play, 75-yard touchdown drive, which was capped off by a spectacular touchdown pass from Wilson to Tyler Lockett.
When the Patriots' offense finally took the field for its first snap with 5:21 left in the first quarter, they marched on a long touchdown drive of their own. After being ruled down inside the 1-yard line, Newton ran for a second straight time at the goal line and scored, giving New England a 14-7 lead.
The Seahawks tied the game later in the second when D.K. Metcalf hauled in a long bomb from Wilson. Metcalf beat Stephon Gilmore to make the 54-yard touchdown catch.
The Patriots regained the lead on their opening drive of the second half, after Jamal Adams tackled Newton at the line of scrimmage on a third-and-goal, thus forcing a short field goal for Nick Folk.
The Seahawks took a 21-17 lead on the ensuing possession, with David Moore twirling at the pylon to make a tremendous 38-yard touchdown reception.
Newton threw an interception on the next route, and the Seahawks made it hurt when Wilson hit Freddie Swain on a crossing route through traffic for an all-too-easy 21-yard touchdown. Busted coverage led to Swain running free through the defense for that score, which put the Seahawks up 28-17.
The Patriots responded, with Newton connecting with Julian Edelman for 49 yards to start their next drive. After Newton picked up a rushing first down near the goal line, he threw a touchdown pass to Jakob Johnson to shrink Seattle's lead. A Newton rush for the two-point conversion attempt failed, leaving the score at 28-23 in favor of the Seahawks with a little over 14 minutes left to play.
After the two teams exchanged punts, though, the Seahawks embarked on a 65-yard drive that ended with Chris Carson burning past Adrian Phillips and making an 18-yard touchdown reception to put Seattle up 35-23.
The Patriots' offense responded once more, sparked by Newton hitting Edelman for 33 yards to set up the Patriots near the goal line. Newton did the honors from there, rushing for his second touchdown of the game for the second straight week to cut Seattle's lead to five.
Seahawks safety Quandre Diggs was ejected from the game late in the first quarter after delivering a helmet-to-helmet hit on N'Keal Harry.
Patriots running back James White did not play, after learning that his father died in an automobile accident earlier on Sunday.
The Patriots will head back home and host the Las Vegas Raiders next weekend at Gillette Stadium.