Patriots lose Week 2 clash with Seahawks, 23-20, in overtime
FOXBORO -- The New England Patriots are now 1-1 on the season after losing in overtime, 23-20, to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday. The Patriots lost a winnable game in their home opener, as the offense was imbalanced and the defense had a few lapses.
The Seahawks tied the game with less than a minute to play in regulation, and the Patriots went three-and-out on their only possession of overtime. Geno Smith moved Seattle downfield to set up a 31-yard, game-winning field goal by Jason Meyers, giving Jerod Mayo his first loss as head coach of the Patriots.
"This one hurts," Mayo said after the loss. "We just didn't take care of the little things."
Smith threw for 327 yards for Seattle, while DK Metcalf caught 10 passes for 129 yards and a touchdown. Jaxon Smith-Njigba gave the New England secondary trouble all day, as the receiver had 12 catches for 117 yards for Seattle.
The New England offense was boom-or-bust for most of the afternoon, with six of the Patriots' 11 drives ending after a three-and-out. Rhamondre Stevenson ran for just 81 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries, while Brissett completed 15 of his 27 passes for 149 yards and a touchdown. Tight end Hunter Henry had a career day for New England with eight receptions for 109 yards, but the Patriots got nothing out of its receiving corps on Sunday.
Ja'Lynn Polk was the only Patriots receiver to make catch during regulation, making two on the afternoon. His first was a big one though, as the rookie caught his first career touchdown in the first quarter on a five-yard missile from Brisset to cap off an eight-play, 60-yard scoring drive to give New England a 7-0 lead. (KJ Osborn was the only other Patriots receiver with a catch, hauling in a catch in overtime.)
The Seahawks answered that Polk score two minutes later though. Christian Gonzalez and Kyle Dugger had a miscommunication in the New England secondary, leaving Metcalf wide open for a 56-yard touchdown. After the Patriots took a 10-7 lead with a Joey Slye field goal, Seattle answered with an 11-play, 70-yard touchdown drive, capped off with a one-yard touchdown by running back Zach Charbonnet. Smith hit Smith-Njigba twice on that drive, accounting for 36 of Seattle's yards.
Both teams added a field goal before the break, and Seattle took a 17-13 lead into halftime.
The Patriots had three straight three-and-outs to end the first half and start the second half. Brissett was sacked on a third-and-10 on that third straight three-and-out, and appeared to hurt his knee on the play. But he didn't see New England trainers after limping to the sideline, and returned to action when the Patriots' defense forced a three-and-out of their own.
Brissett had to run for his life again on the next Patriots possession, but his legs bought him enough time to turn what should have been a 10-yard loss into an 11-yard pickup with a nice strike to Henry downfield. That set the Patriots up at the Seattle 11-yard line, and a few plays later Stevenson ran it in from a yard out to give New England a 20-17 lead early in the fourth quarter.
Stevenson rushed for 36 yards on that 66-yard scoring drive by the Patriots.
The New England defense shut down Seattle on their next possession, with Keion White coming through with a big sack on Smith on a second-and-20. White was credited with 1.5 sacks on Sunday, and is up to four sacks through two weeks.
Antonio Gibson had the biggest play of the day on New England's next possession, shaking a would-be tackler in the backfield and racing upfield for a 45-yard gain to the Seattle 25-yard line. But the Patriots didn't get any points after that big run, as Brissett was sacked on third-and-6 and Slye's 48-yard field goal attempt was blocked by Seattle.
That gave Seattle the ball back at their own 38 with 3:54 in a 20-17 game. Smith hit Metcalf for a 14-yard connection on a second-and-1 and a few plays later, the two connected for nine yards on a second-and-10 that brought Seattle to the New England 15.
But Smith was denied on a QB keeper on third-and-1. Seattle tried to draw the Patriots offsides twice but the New England defense didn't bite. Meyers kicked a 38-yard field goal to tie the game, 20-20, with 55 seconds left in regulation.
The Patriots went three-and-out on their final possession of regulation, and Brissett took another big hit as he was sacked on third-and-3. Left tackle Vederian Lowe was also shaken up and went to the medical tent after the play.
That sent the game to overtime, and the Patriots went three-and-out after winning the toss and electing to receive. Stevenson was stuffed on a third-and-1 carry and the Pats had to punt the ball away.
The Seahawks then drove down the field and kicked a field goal to win it, improving to 2-0 on the season.
The 1-1 Patriots will now deal with a short week, as they'll next play the New York Jets in New Jersey on Thursday Night Football. The Jets improved to 1-1 on the season with a 24-17 win over the Titans in Tennessee on Sunday.
