Twenty-six seconds. Trailing by just three points. The New England Patriots were on the Seahawks’ 16-yard line, driving hard in the second half. And then, Drake Maye threw the ball right into the hands of Josh Jobe, sealing a hard-fought Seahawks victory and sending the 12s home happy for the season opener. What was he thinking? It was a wild finish to kick off the 2026 season.
Maye’s Second-Half Meltdown Gifted Us the Win
This game had some serious stakes for Maye. He was looking for redemption after what happened in 2025. Remember that MVP-caliber season that fell apart, culminating in a disastrous 29-13 loss to our Seahawks in Super Bowl 60? Yeah, that one. He handled our pressure well early on, even after Sam Darnold, the Patriots’ QB, left with a hip injury. New England actually jumped out to a 10-0 lead and was driving deep into Seattle territory in the second half. That’s when the wheels absolutely fell off for Maye. He threw three interceptions after halftime, but none were as damaging as that final one. On third down, with just 26 seconds left and his team down by three at our 16-yard line, the pressure crashed down. Maye looked like he was gonna throw it away, but instead, he lobbed an underthrown pass right to Jobe. Just like that, game over.
“Unacceptable”: The Word That Haunts Maye (And Hypes Us)
To his credit, Maye faced the music right after the final whistle. He took full accountability in his postgame presser. “We had the game under control,” he started, talking about the sequence that locked in the Seahawks victory. “I thought we had a good plan to start chipping away and be patient.” But then he owned up to it, saying, “Those decisions that cost us the game on my part. I vowed to myself to be better. It’s a long season, but at the same time, we can’t have those. Can’t have those. It’s unacceptable.” And yeah, “unacceptable” sums it up perfectly. Without an injured A.J. Brown, Maye played impatient football, throwing ill-advised passes into bad spots. That final mistake cost his team a shot at overtime. He’s been here before, though. Last year, New England started with a home loss to the Las Vegas Raiders, who ended up with the worst record in the league. Losing to the defending champions, our Seahawks, might sting, but it’s probably a *bit* more optimistic than losing to the league’s worst.
Look, Maye’s “unacceptable” performance was a gift wrapped in a pretty bow, no doubt, but our D stepped up when it mattered and took full advantage of the pressure we brought. It’s an 0-1 start for the Pats, certainly, but a crucial early season W for our boys in green and blue. This is the kind of gritty, opportunistic football we need to see to make some noise this year. A win against a team with “redemption” on its mind, and Maye still reeling from last season’s Super Bowl loss to *us*? That’s how you set the tone for the entire season, grabbing momentum right out of the gate. Let’s keep that energy going, 12s! We’re just getting started!
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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