3 silver linings from the Patriots’ crushing loss to the Seahawks

New England Patriots

The Patriots got key contributions from a pair of rookies, and the offense looked much more competitive than last year.

COMMENTARY

Let’s get the negatives out of the way at the outset: Drake Maye made some egregious mistakes in key situations, New England’s run-game was largely ineffective, Seattle’s Jaxon Smith-Njigba didn’t seem to have many issues with the Patriots’ zone defense, and New England threw away a very winnable game in the final minute.

That said, there were some encouraging things from Wednesday’s 13-10 Patriots loss to Seattle that shouldn’t be overlooked.

The Patriots played a very good team at home. This was pretty much the same Seattle team that thrashed them in the Super Bowl last year, minus Kenneth Walker and Tariq Woolen. They returned 20 out of 22 starters, and the front seven that mauled the Patriots last year remained intact.

Sure, Sam Darnold got knocked out of the game on the opening drive, but he wasn’t the deciding factor last year and it’s unlikely that he would have been Wednesday night. He went 19-for-38 in Super Bowl LX for 202 yards. Walker, a running back who averaged five yards per carry and didn’t score a touchdown in the game, was named MVP.

Last February’s loss came down to the Patriots being non-competitive on offense. They were shut out through three quarters, the offensive line got bullied, and Maye had to throw the ball 43 times because they couldn’t get the run-game established.

Wednesday night’s loss, as frustrating as it was, looked much different. The Patriots blew a double-digit lead in the second half. They still struggled in the run game, but Maye took some costly deep shots that just seemed unnecessary. He said after the game that he lost his patience.

Much like the joint practices this summer against the Eagles, the Patriots looked like they were right there with, if not better than, a team that dominated them in the not-too-distant past.

With that said, here are three silver livings from Wednesday night’s defeat.

Offensive line put forth a respectable performance

It wasn’t pretty – Rhamondre Stevenson didn’t have much room to work with, and Maye’s scrambling ability bailed them out on multiple occasions – but New England’s offensive line held up well enough to put the Patriots in position to win the game.

Will Campbell, in particular, looked much improved from last February. He was able to hold his own in pass protection Wednesday night after allowing a season-high 14 pressures in Super Bowl LX.

Yes, he allowed a sack, and yes, he did require some help off the edge. The Patriots got creative using chip blocks, quick throws to running backs out of the backfield, lining Hunter Henry up at various spots to help out, and breaking out heavier personnel sets to help relieve the pressure. But, Campbell’s performance reflects both the improvement he made this summer and how much healthier he is now than he was last February, which is encouraging.

There were some strange moments -such as Campbell and Morgan Moses both cut blocking on the final play that led to Maye’s interception.

However, for the most part, the O-line looked functional against a championship caliber defense. Jared Wilson looked smooth in his first game back at his natural position. Alijah Vera Tucker and Mike Onwenu kept there from being too much pressure up the middle. Moses got hurdled on the final play, but he was solid for most of the night. Altogether, they allowed three sacks, much better than the six they allowed last February.

Pleasant surprises from Gabe Jacas, Eli Raridon

Raise your hand if you had Eli Raridon scoring the first touchdown of the NFL regular-season. He didn’t have any touchdowns at Notre Dame last year.

Seattle seemed preoccupied with Hunter Henry on Raridon’s two-yard touchdown catch, leaving the rookie wide open. But, still, a score is a score, and the young tight end got on the board. It was his only catch of the night, but it was also the Patriots’ only touchdown.

Gabe Jacas also made some meaningful contributions, posting a sack and two tackles for loss. He, Dre’Mont Jones, and Christian Barmore were the only Patriots to register a quarterback hit Wednesday night. Jones had four of the Patriots’ six QB hits.

Tight end and edge rusher are two positions where the Patriots are in need of rookie contributions because they lack depth at those spots. So far, so good for Raridon and Jacas as far as that goes.

Drake Maye played one of his worst games and the Patriots almost beat the defending champs.

There were twenty-six seconds left and Drake Maye had the ball on the opponent’s 16, while trailing by three points at the time of the final turnover.

The Patriots were well within field-goal range and could have played for overtime if they wanted to. Instead, they were aggressive and tried to end the game in regulation.

It didn’t work out, but that’s not a bad situation to be in against the defending champs at home. The quarterback had a chance to win the game. The defense did what it needed to do. There weren’t any crazy special teams mistakes.

The Patriots offense got close to getting the last score they needed, but just couldn’t finish. That’s despite three interceptions that were due to a mix of poor decisions and lack of zip on the ball.

Maye didn’t have any three-interception games last year. He threw eight during the entire regular season. He had one fewer interception last night than he did all postseason last year. You’d have to go back to his rookie year to find anther time where he looked this bad.

All that, and the Patriots still probably should have won the game. At the end of the day, the final score is what matters, but if Wednesday night is any indication of where the Patriots are truly at it might not be as bad as people think.