Top Performers in Seahawks’ 13-10 Week 1 Win vs. Patriots

Despite losing starting quarterback Sam Darnold just six snaps into Wednesday’s opener and falling behind 10-0 in the third quarter, led by Drew Lock and an opportunistic defense, the resilient Seattle Seahawks stormed back in front of the boisterous 12s for a thrilling 13-10 victory over the New England Patriots.

Diving into the All-22 film and digging deeper into Seattle’s hard-fought comeback win to kick off the new season, who stood out in the much-anticipated Super Bowl LX rematch? Here are my top five performers from the Seahawks’ three-point victory over Drake Maye and the Patriots at Lumen Field:

Julian Love

Overall Grade: 91.0 (Run Defense 94, Coverage 92, Tackling 87)

Preaching to his teammates to have “violence in their hearts” during warmups, “The Mayor” took those words literally to heart from the opening kickoff to the final whistle. Reading New England’s blocking schemes like a book, he rocketed into the backfield for a pair of tackles for loss on running back Rhamondre Stevenson, including a crucial 3rd and 1 stop in the first quarter that forced the visitors to punt the ball away after he blew up the back on a B-gap blitz. Even when receivers made catches in his vicinity, he rattled the bones of Drake Maye’s targets, including demolishing Hunter Henry on a 13-yard reception to open the third quarter with a jarring hit that woke the 12s up from their post-Sam Darnold injury slumber.

Likely to fuel nightmares for Maye from this point on after picking off the young quarterback in the Super Bowl in February, Love made him pay again jumping a downfield route inside 10 minutes to play in the fourth quarter, recording the second of three interceptions by the “Dark Side” defense in the final 15 minutes to set up Jason Myers’ game-winning field goal. While he didn’t finish after he got to Maye on a blitz later in the final stanza and wound up missing a sack opportunity, he still generated an effective pressure on his lone rushing attempt, finishing a dominant outing with six tackles, a trio of run stops, and the aforementioned interception, playing arguably the best game of his Seahawks career thus far in the process.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba

Overall Grade: 90.0 (Receiving 94, Run Blocking 70*)

*Weighted for 18 run blocking snaps

Few defenses found any semblance of an answer for Smith-Njigba during his run to Offensive Player of the Year honors last season, but the Patriots bottled him up for just four catches for 27 yards in Super Bowl LX. Trying to replicate that feat proved to be futile, however, as the star receiver managed to take over Wednesday’s opener despite Darnold going down just six plays into the game. Right out of the gate, on Darnold’s only completion, he hauled in a 13-yard reception to move the chains. Once Lock checked in, he continued to be the go-to target for Seattle’s backup, snagging a 21-yard reception on 3rd and 22 on a deep crossing route in the second quarter and finishing the first half with five of the Seahawks seven receptions for 53 yards.

With the game hanging in the balance and Seattle trailing 10-3 early in the fourth quarter, Smith-Njigba struck like lightning on a gusty 4th and 1 play action pass call from new coordinator Brian Fleury. After catching a quick curl from Lock that would have been enough for a new set of downs, he turned on the accelerator as he raced past multiple Patriots defenders and seemed to bump up his speed a few miles per hour as he hit the 20-yard line, turning the short catch into an electric 45-yard touchdown to tie the game. He would add one more 11-yard reception before concluding the night with 122 yards on eight catches, accounting for more than 60% of the Seahawks’ 200 passing yards and putting the offense on his shoulders during a thrilling comeback effort. He also held a nice block for several seconds driving a cornerback downfield on Lock’s 13-yard run in the fourth quarter, earning a few more stars for something that won’t show up in a box score.

Rodney Thomas

Overall Grade: 88.5 (Run Defense 84, Coverage 92, Tackling 90)

Thrust into the starting lineup as a practice squad callup with Ty Okada and Nick Emmanwori inactive due to injuries, Thomas leaned on his prior starting experience as a member of the Colts, showcasing his veteran savvy next to Love in the Seahawks’ secondary. Though he did not make any tackles in the first half as Love took on the starring role early, he held up well on the back end in coverage, allowing just an eight-yard catch in the opening two quarters. Once the second half arrived, the Yale alum started to come through with impact plays of his own, helping Seattle keep New England out of the end zone and limiting the road squad to a mere field goal in the final 30 minutes.

Immediately after the Patriots had their first drive of the third quarter extended by a special teams penalty, Thomas shot out of a cannon from his deep safety drop in hot pursuit and made an outstanding diving open field tackle on DeMario Douglas, dragging the receiver down in the flats for a one-yard gain. Just two plays into the fourth quarter, Maye tried to test him on a deep ball to Romeo Doubs, only for the 6-2 defender to high-point the ball, deflect the pass up into the air, and into the hands of Nehemiah Pritchett for a clutch interception. Yielding just two receptions on three targets for nine yards and recording four tackles without any missed ones, he surpassed expectations and then some holding down the fort in Okada’s stead.

Uchenna Nwosu

Overall Grade: 88.0 (Run Defense 92, Pass Rush 90, Tackling 84)

Coming off his first full healthy offseason since 2023, Nwosu played like a maniac possessed on Wednesday night, making his presence felt as a penetrator against the run as well as harassing Maye on a consistent basis off the edge. On New England’s opening series, he shucked the tight end trying to block him at the point of attack, stuffing Stevenson for a three-yard loss on a shotgun run. Early in the second quarter, he got into the act again, this time blasting Corey Kiner at the line of scrimmage for no gain. He wrapped up the first half with four tackles, including the aforementioned tackle for loss, helping stymie the Patriots rushing attack from the outset.

Nwosu continued to be a problem for New England’s offensive line in the second half, initially being credited with a five-yard tackle for loss on Stevenson early in the third quarter, only for replay review to change the pass to an incompletion and nullify the backfield stop. Later in the quarter, he corralled Stevenson again for a short one-yard gain, finishing the night with four run stuffs. If there was a downside to his performance, five pressures didn’t result in a single sack or quarterback hit, as he let Maye slip through his grasps twice on plays he would have loved to have back. But even with those missed opportunities, he led the team in pressures and one of those turned into a sack for Leonard Williams after the quarterback was flushed up the pocket.

Drew Lock

Overall Grade: 86.0 (Passing 87, Rushing 85)

Subbing in for Darnold midway through the first quarter, Fleury seemed hesitant to put the ball in Lock’s hands for several drives, including calling run plays on four of the first five snaps he took under center. But as the game progressed and the play caller had time to adjust to the adverse situation, he started to support his backup quarterback with schemed open receivers, allowing him to find a rhythm and slowly gain confidence working with receivers and linemen he hadn’t practiced with all week. Even though Seattle was blanked in the first half, he demonstrated excellent decision making and accuracy, completing six out of eight pass attempts for 51 yards with no turnovers.

Benefiting from a halftime intermission to regroup, Lock came out firing in the third quarter, dropping a perfect 24-yard corner route into the bucket for Cooper Kupp to reel in one-handed and throwing a touchdown two plays later, only for that completion to be nullified by an illegal motion penalty. Nonetheless, the Seahawks scored their first points on that drive with Myers splitting the uprights, and after Pritchett’s interception quickly gave the ball back to the offense, he rewarded Fleury for having faith in him on 4th and 1 with the quick completion to Smith-Njigba off a play fake, letting the star receiver do the rest for six points to knot the score. Vastly outplaying Maye, he finished with 187 passing yards, a 72.7% completion rate, 8.5 yards per attempt, and most importantly, no turnovers as he aced the role of game manager to steer Seattle to a big comeback win.