The Seahawks kicked off their Super Bowl championship defense with a gritty 13-10 comeback win over the New England Patriots, but the Emerald City is holding its breath after quarterback Sam Darnold left the game with a hip injury that could sideline him indefinitely.
QB Chaos and Clutch Play
Darnold’s day started fast: new offensive coordinator Brian Fleury’s first play-call was a 13-yard run by rookie Jadarian Price, followed by Darnold’s own 13-yard pass to Jaxon Smith-Njigba. But after an Eric Saubert false start, Darnold went down hard, sacked by former Seahawk Dre’Mont Jones, limping off with that hip injury. Just like that, Drew Lock was in. He started by mostly handing the ball off and nearly threw an early second-quarter interception to Christian Gonzalez targeting Cooper Kupp. But Lock delivered! He led a game-winning drive in primetime, capped by a crucial 4th-and-1 throw to Jaxon Smith-Njigba for Seattle’s only touchdown. JSN was an absolute monster all game: 8 catches for 122 yards and that vital score, even after Darnold exited. The offense, though, clearly had penalty issues to iron out: a Derick Hall personal foul, Josh Jobe’s pass interference, “sloppy penalties persisted,” and a “mysterious offside penalty” that negated a successful Barnyard shove conversion with A.J. Barner, even after Lock hit JSN for 21.5 yards on 3rd and 22. This team needs to clean that up, fast.
The Dark Side Dominates
While the offense found its footing, our “Dark Side” defense was putting on a clinic, even with a banged-up secondary missing Nick Emmanwori and Ty Okada. After New England opened the scoring with a methodical 10-play, 77-yard drive, ending in a Drake Maye touchdown pass to Eli Raridon (helped by Jobe’s pass interference on a flea-flicker), they locked it down. The defense reminded everyone how dominant they are, especially when undermanned, producing three Drake Maye interceptions in the final quarter! Josh Jobe, after that earlier PI, snagged the game-winning pick on a ball Maye absolutely should’ve never thrown. That’s the kind of gritty, late-game heroics we know and love from this squad.
So, we got the W to start the season, but the question marks around Sam Darnold’s injury are huge. It means Drew Lock is the guy for now, and he showed he’s got the clutch gene. The “Dark Side” defense, despite injuries, proved they’re still championship-caliber, snatching picks and locking down when it mattered most. That kind of resilience is what you love to see in the Emerald City, especially early in the season. It’s a long haul, but this team just showed us they won’t back down.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Field Gulls.
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