Did Seahawks’ defense or Patriots’ mistakes decide opener?

After being the NFL’s top unit last season, the Seattle Seahawks’ Dark Side defense showed that even when it’s short-handed, it can still rise to the occasion and win a game.

Drew Lock showed off his best trait in Seattle Seahawks’ Week 1 win

Seattle intercepted New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye three times during the fourth quarter of its season opener on Wednesday, igniting a comeback 13-10 win in front of the home crowd at Lumen Field.

The Seahawks’ secondary, which was down safeties Nick Emmanwori, Ty Okada and Bud Clark, came up with all three of those picks, including the first of third-year cornerback Nehemiah Pritchett’s career. Julian Love provided another, and Josh Jobe made a top-tap grab in the end zone on the final one to seal the game in the final minute.

However, two of those interceptions came on head-scratching throws by Maye. Pritchett’s pick, which was aided by a breakup from Rodney Thomas II, came on a throw into double coverage, and Jobe’s came on a desperation heave to the end zone when the Patriots were within range of a game-tying field goal.

So, is it the Seahawks’ defense or the Patriots’ mistakes that deserve the most credit for the result in the opener? Stacy Rost posed that question to host NFL Network’s “NFL Daily” podcast Gregg Rosenthal during Friday’s edition of Seattle Sports’ Bump and Stacy.

“I give 80% credit Seahawks, 20% blame on those Maye throws,” Rosenthal said. “Because the crazy thing is – I rewatched that game – I think you could have made a good argument through three quarters Drake Maye was playing smart football. Like, the game plan was a little conservative. I didn’t like how they handled the play before halftime where they ended up punting it away and they’re not going deep (in the passing game), but that’s because the Seahawks defense is so good.”

Rosenthal pointed to the Patriots’ lack of run game as another reason why Seattle’s defense deserves credit. New England rushed for 109 yards but averaged just 3.5 yards per carry. And with Maye’s runs taken out, Patriots running backs averaged 2.6 yards with 62 yards on 24 carries.

“They could not run the ball. Like, their running game was way worse, and they tried to stay with it,” Rosenthal said. “I thought they thought they had a numbers advantage, but the Seahawks players were all better.”

Julian Love flies in for the TFL on third and short 😤

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— NFL (@NFL) September 10, 2026

Ultimately, the defense’s performance gave Rosenthal plenty of confidence it will still be the league’s best at least early on this season.

“And then you look at Drake Maye, who I think played well through three quarters, and you look at those three interceptions. One they completely fooled him and was a great play by Julian Love, the other two he absolutely forced it (and made) a dumb decision, but they were incredible defensive plays by guys you would not expect from the Seahawks,” Rosenthal said. “So, I give more credit (to the Seahawks). And I do think the Patriots played a little differently maybe knowing (Sam) Darnold was not the quarterback trying to win a low-scoring game, and it came back to bite them.

“But for the most part, I’ve seen these defending champion teams come out of the gates pretty good, especially on their strong side, and I just think it’s a defense that has all the confidence in the world and I would take them over every defense in the league for this next month or two as they settle into the season.”

JOSH JOBE TOE TAP INT

NEvsSEA on NBC/Peacock
Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/MrmQx0a3fo

— NFL (@NFL) September 10, 2026

Hear the full conversation at this link or in the audio player in this story. Listen to Bump and Stacy weekdays from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app. 

Seattle Seahawks news and more

• Stacy on NFC West: What Week 1 told us about Seahawks, Rams and 49ers
• What Bump learned about the Seattle Seahawks in Week 1
• Myles Garrett acknowledges knee injury is significant after quiet Rams debut

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