The Seattle Seahawks vs New England Patriots clash was a wild night for fans of either team. But for Vinod Khosla, who became the new Chair of the Seahawks following the record-setting purchase of the team, the chaotic game had him concerned about his health.
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“I’m going to get a cardiac test before the next @Seahawks game,” wrote Khosla on X. “The team and 12s won it tonight. Hard to imagine a better roller coaster.”
“Roller coaster” is the correct word used for the game. The Seahawks started on a sombre note, with star quarterback Sam Darnold going down with a brutal injury. Not many thought the Seahawks could win with backup Drew Lock thrust into the fire. Seattle was scoreless going into the second half, punting four times. The offense stalled in the third quarter too, when they added their first points on the board with a field goal.
The Seattle defense helped contain a New England trying to regain its footing in the second half. However, the game flipped entirely after two interceptions from Pats QB Drake Maye, the last one coming in the final minute of regulation. It handed the victory to Seattle, thanks to an alert Josh Jobe. From 9-0 in the first half, Seattle finished with a 13-10 record.
Lock stepped up with two late scoring drives. He connected with star wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba for a 45-yard touchdown pass, breathing some life into the offense and the home team. Smith-Njigba recorded eight catches for 122 yards and a touchdown. Lock, meanwhile, recorded a good debut, tallying 187 yards, one score, and one interception on 16-of-22 completed passes.
“We knew coming in, it was going to be a four-quarter game, and that’s who we are,” receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba said. “We’re going to fight. We knew it’s going to be a dogfight, and we love it. Whatever it looks like in the first half, second quarter, like we’re going to make it right. We’re going to keep fighting until the clock hits triple zero. So I was just happy to see that and to see that continue going forward this year.”
Head coach Mike McDonald also hinted at how it was a thrilling game.
“I want to give our team a lot of credit because you know things weren’t really going where we wanted,” he said. “We didn’t panic. We still liked our plan. We didn’t need to change what we were doing or anything like that. We just we wanted to stick to what we were doing, and the guys were just really excited to go back out there and play.”
Perhaps the only factor that needs cleaning up is the penalties. Seattle recorded 10 penalties for 98 yards, one of which removed a crucial Cooper Kupp touchdown from the score. The Seattle offense fared fairly okay, which is operating under new offensive coordinator Brian Fleury this year, posting 283 total offensive yards.
It looks like the Khosla family can look forward to a good season. Ahead of the Pats game, the family had expressed their thoughts on the team.
“It’s a 30-point game in the fourth quarter, and you see how special the fanbase is,” Vinod’s son, Neal, who is vice chair of the team, said of their impression before the purcahse. “I think we walked away going, ‘Oh my God, this is built different.’ And so, that was kind of the first cue to tell us that this franchise, I think, has something really special in how it’s connected to the community.”
“How lucky is it? How often do you get to buy a team that just won the Super Bowl?” Vinod said. “So, the best thing we can do is not mess with a lot.”
Vinod said that he doesn’t use social media frequently, but he will be active to speak on “important issues.” The season opener easily found its way into that category.
With this, the Seahawks had a good start by closing the door on New England. They will now have to carry that momentum to the next outing to face off the Arizona Cardinals, against whom they scored double wins last season.