3 winners (and 2 losers) in Seahawks' epic win over Patriots in Week 1

The 2026 NFL season has mercifully arrived, and we wasted absolutely no time with the drama we have all been longing for since February.

The New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks faced off in a Super Bowl rematch to kick off the season, and there was a lot going on in this game beyond just the rematch storyline.

Sam Darnold went down early in this game. AJ Brown was injured in his first game as a Patriots wide receiver. And the Seattle Seahawks' defense rose to the occasion in a big way. We're going to break down the biggest winners and losers from the Seahawks' epic come-from-behind win to get the 2026 party started.

Drake Maye leads biggest losers from Patriots' Week 1 loss vs. Seahawks

Winner: Drew Lock, QB, Seahawks

Getting called into action in the first game of the season, Drew Lock proved why he is probably one of the best backup quarterbacks in the NFL right now.

Historically speaking, Lock has been rather reckless with the football. He has 20 interceptions and 20 fumbles in 42 career games. In this game against the Patriots, however, Lock took pretty good care of the ball and did his job as a point guard and playmaker.

He finished the game 16-of-22 passing for 187 yards, 1 TD, no interceptions, and a passer rating of 113.3.

The Seahawks are going to need Lock to continue playing smart football with Sam Darnold's hip injury likely costing him at least one more game, but there's no doubt they can have confidence with him out there on the field leading the offense. He made some big-time throws against New England and helped dig the Seahawks out of a 10-0 hole.

Winner: Jaxon Smith-Njigba, WR, Seahawks

The reigning NFL Offensive Player of the Year was doing Offensive Player of the Year things against the New England Patriots.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba made the biggest play of the entire game (and I don't take that statement lightly in this case) with a 45-yard catch-and-run that ended up tying the game for Seattle in the second half.

Situationally, this is simply a remarkable play by everyone involved. The Seahawks know they're going to get pressure from the Patriots, and somehow they convinced the Patriots they were going to swing it to the back instead of get it to Smith-Njigba.

He made everyone on the New England defense look like they were carrying sandbags after the catch. With 8 receptions on 11 targets for 122 yards and a touchdown, Smith-Njigba is picking up right where he left off.

Loser: Drake Maye, QB, Patriots

There is not a bigger "loser" from this game than Drake Maye.

Maye had a rough time in the playoffs last season, to say the least, but he was embarrassed by the Seahawks in the Super Bowl. The Seahawks continued to prove they own him with ther dominating defensive performance on Wednesday night, especially in the 4th quarter.

After limiting the Patriots' offense all game, the Seahawks took advantage of his throws downfield in the 4th quarter with a whopping three interceptions, including the game-ender.

This was just a mind-numbingly bad throw by Maye to end the game, and he made several throws 20-plus yards downfield that had everyone scratching their heads. Have the Seahawks "broken" Drake Maye?

This was his opportunity to prove everyone that last year's playoffs were a fluke, and that he truly is an MVP in waiting. There's still a lot of football left to be played, but Maye's stock could not possibly be lower than it is right now...right?

Loser: Romeo Doubs, WR, Patriots

The New England Patriots made multiple moves to acquire help at the wide receiver position in the 2026 offseason, and the early returns were rough.

Not only did newcomer AJ Brown get hurt in this game, but Romeo Doubs was a downright liability.

Doubs dropped what would have been a huge play in this game, and also was the target on one of Drake Maye's three interceptions on the night. He was targeted three times total with one drop, one interception, and a passer rating of 0.0 when throwing his direction. To say it was an awful debut for Doubs in a Patriots uniform would be putting it nicely.

Winner: Mike Macdonald, HC, Seahawks

You have to tip your cap to Mike Maconald, who was already coming into this game dealing with some significant injuries at the safety position. He didn't have Nick Emmanwori for the game, which causes an adjustment in your defensive strategy to begin with.

Without Emmanwori, it was the Devon Witherspoon blitzing show for Seattle's defense. Witherspoon was sent on 8 blitzes in this game, and whatever tactics the Seahawks were using, the Patriots didn't seem to have an answer.

For Drake Maye to be as ineffective as he was throwing the ball downfield in this game required a great gameplan from Maconald, and that's exactly what we saw.

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