The banner had barely settled into place above Lumen Field when Seattle’s carefully prepared opening night began to unravel.

Sam Darnold left with a hip injury on the Seahawks’ first possession, their offense remained scoreless until late in the third quarter and New England carried a 10–0 lead into the closing stages of Wednesday’s Super Bowl rematch.

Despite all that, Seattle nevertheless began its title defence with another victory over the Patriots, recovering to win 13–10 after back-up quarterback Drew Lock found Jaxon Smith-Njigba for a 45-yard touchdown and the Seahawks intercepted Drake Maye on each of New England’s final three possessions. Josh Jobe supplied the decisive play with 21 seconds remaining, keeping both feet inside the line to complete an interception that prevented the Patriots from attempting a tying field goal.

It was a dramatic conclusion to the NFL’s first game of the new season and another painful finish for New England, whose previous campaign had ended with defeat against the same opponent in Super Bowl LX. Maye had led the Patriots to Seattle’s 16-yard line before attempting to find Mack Hollins while under pressure on third-and-five. His underthrown pass gave Jobe the opportunity to complete a difficult catch at the boundary, ending a night on which New England had controlled much of the first three quarters.

“Unacceptable,” Maye said of the final interception. “I was trying to get rid of it, and I realised Mack was back there in the back but I didn’t put enough on it to get it out.”

The mistake completed a remarkable fourth-quarter deterioration from the quarterback who finished second in last season’s MVP voting. Maye completed 23 of 33 passes for 178 yards and a touchdown, but his three interceptions transformed a game in which Seattle had struggled to generate either possession or points.

New England opened the scoring when a pass-interference penalty against Jobe placed the ball at the two-yard line, allowing Maye to find rookie tight end Eli Raridon for his first NFL touchdown. Andy Borregales added a 50-yard field goal after Seattle was penalised for roughing punter Mitch Wishnowsky early in the third quarter, and the 10–0 deficit appeared to leave the defending champions in serious difficulty.

Darnold had already disappeared down the tunnel after being sacked by former Seattle defensive lineman Dre’Mont Jones on the opening series. He completed one of two passes for 13 yards before being replaced by Lock, who had attempted only three passes throughout the Seahawks’ championship season.

Initial X-rays and a CT scan revealed no fracture in Darnold’s right hip. He will undergo an MRI on Thursday to establish whether he sustained soft-tissue damage that could hinder his availability for Seattle’s Week 2 visit to Arizona. Darnold’s departure forced new offensive play-caller Brian Fleury to alter his plans within minutes of beginning his first regular season game in the role. Lock endured several stalled possessions but kept Seattle within reach, receiving important support from Smith-Njigba and rookie running back Jadarian Price. The Seahawks finally scored through Jason Myers’ 30-yard field goal late in the third quarter, although Lock appeared to have found Cooper Kupp for a touchdown earlier in the possession, only for an illegal-shift penalty to remove it from the board.

Once they were on the board, Seattle’s defense took over. Despite playing without safety Nick Emmanwori and giving less established members of the secondary greater responsibility, the unit stepped up and turned the game. Nehemiah Pritchett intercepted a Maye deep pass after Rodney Thomas II broke up the intended completion, returning the ball 30 yards to create the opportunity from which Seattle drew level. Faced with fourth-and-one near midfield, Lock delivered the evening’s defining offensive play as Smith-Njigba escaped into open ground before gathering the pass and accelerating away for a 45-yard touchdown. The receiver began his follow-up to an Offensive Player of the Year campaign with eight receptions for 122 yards, demonstrating that Seattle could continue to build its passing game around him even after the unexpected change at quarterback.

Maye’s next possession ended with an interception by Julian Love, whose performance also included six tackles and two stops behind the line of scrimmage. Lock then moved the Seahawks into the red zone before Myers kicked the 26-yard field goal that established their first lead. New England was given another opportunity when Seattle failed to add to its advantage, but Maye was intercepted for a third time as he attempted to turn a potential tying drive into a winning one.

The Patriots’ collapse was compounded by an injury to A.J. Brown during his first appearance since arriving from Philadelphia. Brown caught three passes for 26 yards before Pritchett’s knee landed on his right ankle as the cornerback broke up a third-down throw. Brown had already removed his boot before entering the medical tent and was subsequently ruled out. Head coach Mike Vrabel offered no immediate indication of the severity of the injury, leaving New England to await further assessment of a player acquired for a 2028 first-round pick and a 2027 fifth-round selection.

Seattle has similar uncertainty surrounding Darnold, although Lock’s performance provided reassurance that the offense can function if the starter is unavailable. The 29-year-old completed 16 of 22 passes for 187 yards, leading the Seahawks on each of their scoring possessions.

“It was a blast,” Lock said. “So proud of everyone around me tonight on the offensive side of the ball. I can’t say enough about the defense turning over the ball.”

The comeback also extended Seattle’s winning sequence to 11 games, including the postseason, matching the longest streak in franchise history. The victory was frequently imperfect in its execution, however, with ten penalties for 98 yards and two potential touchdowns chalked off by offensive infractions. Yet a defense that carried the team through the tightest moments of its championship run found another level when the outcome narrowed to a handful of possessions.

“We didn’t panic,” head coach Mike Macdonald said. “We still liked our plan. We didn’t need to change what we were doing.”