Shortly after halftime of their Week 1 matchup with the Seattle Seahawks, the New England Patriots extended their lead to 10-0 and looked to be in a great position to coast to a victory. The Seahawks had lost starting quarterback Sam Darnold to injury, and although the New England offense didn't look great, Seattle had done very little in the first half.
However, the game shifted near the end of the third quarter when the Seahawks cut the lead to 10-3, and the start of the fourth quarter signaled a stretch so brutal that one of its magnitude hasn't been seen in 30 years.
Here's a look at the fourth quarter in a possession-by-possession breakdown:
- Patriots: 6 plays, 23 yards - ends in an interception
- Seahawks: 5 plays, 67 yards - touchdown
- Patriots: 5 plays, 8 yards - interception
- Seahawks: 8 plays, 39 yards - field goal
- Patriots: 15 plays, 57 yards - interception
The final Patriots drive milked five-and-a-half minutes off the clock and put them in position for
a game-winning field goal before Drake Maye's third interception of the quarter. And to summarize how bad that fourth quarter truly was, OptaSTATS revealed that it had been 30 years since an NFL team managed to do the following in any one quarter of a single game:
- Throw three-plus interceptions
- Allow three-plus sacks
- Commit three or more penalties
- Score zero points
The Patriots are the only NFL team in the last 30 years to:
— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) September 10, 2026
throw 3+ picks
take 3+ sacks
commit 3+ penalties
score 0 points
...in any single quarter of any single game.
Even the worst and strangest forms of history are made to be broken, or at least matched. Although this is one of those that no team ever wants tied to their name, because it highlights several areas of concern and breakdowns throughout that quarter.
And, unfortunately, that's exactly what happened with the Patriots in the 2026 NFL opener on Wednesday night.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Patriots' 4th quarter collapse vs. Seahawks was so brutal it actually made NFL history
