History tells us games between the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots always come down to the wire, and come with dramatic finishes. Wednesday night was yet another chapter in the rivalry between these teams as the Seahawks successfully defended home turf against the Patriots with a dramatic 13-10 defensive victory.
Seattle was celebrating raising their Super Bowl LX championship banner against the team they obliterated, but the good vibes quickly vanished early on for the Seahawks. During their first drive, quarterback Sam Darnold was knocked out of the game with a hip injury. He was visibly limping off the field, and did not return. From there, Drew Lock took the reigns, and it was a slow start for the Seahawks' offense.
Penalties were
killing Seattle, both on offense and defense. A defensive pass interference penalty on Josh Jobe led to the first New England touchdown, going into halftime with a 7-0 lead. Meanwhile, Seattle's offense had a hard time sustaining drives by going backwards with constant false start penalties.
The Patriots had forged a 10-0 lead to begin the third quarter. Eventually, Seattle got on the board after being aided by outstanding field position. Drew Lock found Cooper Kupp on third down with this incredible throw-and-catch, and it would have ended in a touchdown a few plays later if an illegal shift hadn't wiped out the score. Still, Seattle made it a one-score game with a field goal.
The pride of Eastern Washington! pic.twitter.com/VCmgZjRrUc
— Kole Musgrove (@KoleMusgrove23) September 10, 2026
Seattle's defense was playing their hearts out, and gave their offense another opportunity thanks to Rodney Thomas and Nehemiah Pritchett. Thomas, who was elevated from the practice squad earlier in the day, tipped a pass intended for Romeo Doubs, and it bounced right into Pritchett's waiting arms. This was the first of three interceptions snagged by Seattle's defense.
Rodney Thomas and Nehemiah Pritchett have given the Seahawks a jolt pic.twitter.com/dV3c8EkhTN
— The Seahawks Wire (@TheSeahawksWire) September 10, 2026
The Seahawks took full advantage of the opportunity given to them. Drew Lock had marched the offense to midfield, but were facing a 4th-and-1 at New England's 45-yard line. Lock dropped back and found Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who turned on the jets by sprinting full speed to the end zone. Suddenly, a struggling Seahawks offense had made it a 10-10 game.
JSN hit the go-go-gadget turbo boost on this one! pic.twitter.com/91NN6SPKKi
— The Seahawks Wire (@TheSeahawksWire) September 10, 2026
On the following possession, Patriots quarterback Drake Maye connected with his favorite target: Seahawks safety Julian Love. Just like in the Super Bowl, Love managed to turn the tide with another critical fourth quarter interception. Seattle took the lead shortly after with another Jason Myers field goal. Now, it was a 13-10 lead with 5:50 to go.
Drake Maye just connected with his favorite target: Seahawks safety Julian Love pic.twitter.com/8IokOj132u
— The Seahawks Wire (@TheSeahawksWire) September 10, 2026
The Patriots were not about to go quietly into the night. Drake Maye bounced back by engineering a 15-play, 72-yard drive that consumed almost all of the remaining time left on the clock. Maye had New England down at Seattle's 16-yard line with only 0:21 seconds remaining. At that point, the Seahawks (and the 12th Man) were hoping for either a turnover, as the possibility of overtime seemed inevitable. However, Josh Jobe had other plans.
Maye went for the kill, but it was an incredibly boneheaded decision. Josh Jobe found redemption for his earlier pass interference penalty, and closed the game with a stunning interception.
Once again, the north end zone of Lumen Field provided fans with another memorable Seahawks moment. Additionally, this yet another Seahawks vs Patriots game that came down to a defensive stand in the red zone. Goal line interception in Super Bowl XLIX, Kam Chancellor beating Gronkowski in 2016, Cam Newton getting stuffed in 2020, and now Josh Jobe. I'm not sure why the goal line becomes an impenetrable force field for either team in these games, but Seattle was the beneficiary on Wednesday!
Absolutely unreal body control from Josh Jobe pic.twitter.com/txWsO3WhLQ
— Kole Musgrove (@KoleMusgrove23) September 10, 2026
The Seahawks are now 1-0 on the year and will be back in action on Sunday, September 20th for a road game against the Arizona Cardinals.
This article originally appeared on Seahawks Wire: Seahawks outlast Patriots in 13-10 defensive thriller to kick off 2026
