The Seattle Seahawks had the Midas touch last night. Imagine losing your primary quarterback in the very first drive of the regular-season opener against the MVP runner-up quarterback Drake Maye. Then imagine your backup quarterback doing all things right, but your team’s penalty bug haunting you. Then imagine your opponents safely leading 10-3 until only 11 minutes remained in the regulation. They became only the third defending champions to be shut out in the first half of the season opener. Needless to say, the Seahawks were about to be the victim of Murphy’s Law, because everything that could’ve gone wrong did go wrong. That was until the Super Bowl LX rematch turned into an emotional rollercoaster for both teams.

Last season, Maye had only one game with multiple interceptions – the Super Bowl LX. But as much as he wanted last night’s game to be a completely separate occasion rather than a revenge rematch, it was a step further in the worst ways. To the surprise of many, the third-year quarterback started his 2026 season the way he left off last season: with a career-high three interceptions. Considering that much was made about the New England Patriots’ easiest schedule last season, this could be a big problem for the team if the habit continues, and Maye already knows it.

“I thought we had the game under control,” Maye said after the game. “We had a good plan to start chipping away and be patient, and lost patience and costed us, I think just, decisions that cost us the game, on my part, on my end. And I’ve asked myself to be better and realize it’s a long season, but at the same time, you can’t have those. It’s unacceptable.

“And I know that you’re getting back to work, ’cause that wasn’t how I play football and how I wanna represent my game and playing quarterback for the Patriots.”

They say that a good player is always looking for reasons to add chips on their shoulders. For Maye, the chip was already there. He was the MVP runner-up in 2025 after leading the NFL in passer rating and completion percentage in the regular season. For much of the Wednesday rematch, he did look something like that. Let me put his work by last night’s halftime into numbers:

• He had six sacks in Super Bowl LX in February against Seattle’s ‘Dark-side’ defense. Last night, he had zero.
• Maye’s pressure rate in Super Bowl LX was 53%, compared to only 31% last night.
• He was 10/10 in completion for 66 yards, along with a touchdown from a clean pocket.

But the Dark Side defense took over, and Maye gave another dud performance of three interceptions, including one that cost them the game, against the team playing with a backup quarterback:

The first interception

The first miscue came early in the fourth quarter when the Patriots were leading 10-3. Maye attempted a deep pass to Romeo Doubs at a 2nd-&-9, which got deflected by the Seahawks’ Rodney Thomas II hovering over him. Nehemiah Pritchett intercepted it for 30 yards to end that Pats drive. The next pick wasn’t far off.

The second interception

In the very next offensive drive, after the Seahawks had completed a touchdown to tie the game 10-10, Maye went for another deep pass after scrambling to the right on a 3rd-&-14. This time, wide receiver DeMario Douglas was intercepted by safety Julian Love. Seattle again scored a field goal to lead 13-10.

The third interception to call it a night

In the Pats’ final offensive drive, Maye had already converted two fourth downs, and the Pats were in field goal territory. Three more points would have sent the game to overtime. But Maye decided to play hero ball.

He attempted yet another deep pass, this time to wide receiver Mack Hollins. But cornerback Josh Jobe intercepted it for a touchback to jeopardize New England’s chance of redemption.

“I stopped being patient,” Maye said after the game. “That was the big thing. We were really good up until the point I tried to force one down the side to Romeo. We were patient and dumping it off and trying to move the chains and we avoided a lot of three-and-outs and that was something we tried, you know just earn more plays and the points will come. So I just stopped being patient and made decisions that ended up costing us the game.”

The bigger problem, however, would be if this one-off case becomes a pattern.

Why the Patriots cannot afford to lose confidence in Drake Maye

It was telling when a second-year quarterback got the Patriots back to their winning ways last season. But most of that 14-3 record was credited to their easiest schedule of this century. Them being the Super Bowl finalists, though, this year isn’t as forgiving.

If you look at their schedule, their first four games are against playoff teams. With the Seahawks chapter already down in the books, next come the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Jacksonville Jaguars, and the Buffalo Bills. This is considered the sixth-hardest schedule in the NFL this season as the Pats will continue to face contenders with only a handful of easy teams in the mix. The Athletic’s Jerry Brewer said as much:

“A quarterback of his caliber, in a game like this, against an opponent scuffling with its backup quarterback in the game, cannot put a second ball in jeopardy like that,” Brewer wrote. “Not in the fourth quarter. Not when managing the game properly is as important as dynamic playmaking tonight.”

But head coach Mike Vrabel believes they can continue growing from here.

“It’s a long season, we have to hold our head up high,” head coach Mike Vrabel said in the post-game presser after Maye put up a play similar to his practice over the summer. “We have nothing but the utmost confidence in him.”

The Patriots have 11 days until they play at home on September 20 against the Steelers, whose defense is going to be yet another problem. Maye now will have to leave no stone unturned to remove the bitter taste left after the season opener.