FOXBOROUGH - It was a thrilling back-and-forth game in Foxborough at the Patriots home opener against the Seahawks, as the two teams traded lead changes and momentum throughout the entertaining contest that went to overtime.
Hunter Henry had a career day with over 100 receiving yards, rookie Ja'Lynn Polk had his first career touchdown and running back Rhamondre Stevenson had another dominant day on the ground that included a touchdown but it was not enough as Seahawks came from behind late in the fourth quarter to force overtime and then made the clutch plays needed to win the game in the extra frame, prevailing 23-20.
Here are the plays and players that stood out the most in the Rapid Recap!
1. Henry Sparks First Scoring Drive
After trading punts on their initial possessions, the Patriots offense found their stride on their second drive with Hunter Henry coming through with three important catches that led the way.
First, Marcus Jones provided an initial boost with a 15-yard punt return, that got the 8-play, 60-yard drive going. Henry had three catches on the drive, including a third-down conversion that went for 17 yards. Brissett found rookie Ja'Lynn Polk in the middle of the end zone for the first score of both the game and the young receiver's career.
Brissett had to extend some plays with his legs, as Seattle flashed their aggressive defensive play calling that will be a feature for them under new head coach Mike Macdonald. Rhamondre Stevenson also picked up where he left off in Week 1 with some solid running that included a nine-yard gain on this drive. It was a balanced drive that gave New England a first-quarter lead.
Henry had five catches on five targets for 56 yards in the first quarter, including three third-down conversion catches.
2. Busted Coverage Leads to Tie Game
It didn't take long for Seattle to respond as just four plays later Geno Smith would find a wide-open D.K. Metcalf alone up the right sideline for an uncontested 56-yard touchdown. Both Kyle Dugger and Christian Gonzalez watched Metcalf run right by them and Smith had no trouble laying the ball up for an easy completion.
The big play was a departure from last week when the Patriots defense only allowed one play that went over twenty yards. Preventing the big plays from Metcalf had to be a key point of emphasis this week and somehow the defense lost him in coverage, resulting in a quick score that tied the game at 7-7 with just under three minutes to go in the first quarter.
It was a four play drive that went 72 yards and took just over two minutes.
3. NE Drives to a Score, Again
The Patriots put together a solid drive in response to Seattle tying up the game, but the 15-play, 59-yard drive would sputter in the red zone, with New England being forced to settle for a 29-yard field goal from Joey Slye that gave them back a 10-7 lead.
Hunter Henry continued his hot day with two third-down conversion catches on the drive while running back Antonio Gibson picked up one of his own, marking back-to-back possessions of solid execution overall. Gibson also had a 19-yard run up the sideline to give the Pats a big play of their own.
New England converted four of the first six third downs they faced, enabling them to control time of possession by a 13:35 to 5:20 edge early in the second quarter. Save the big play touchdown it was another good performance out of the gate for New England.
4. Seattle Takes a Lead
The back-and-forth game continued as Seattle mounted a response drive of their own, converting two third downs and a short fourth down to get into the end zone. It was an effective 11-play, 70-yard touchdown scoring drive with running back Zach Charbonnet diving into the end zone from one yard out to give Seattle their first lead of the day, 14-10.
It was a tough drive for cornerback Marco Wilson, who ran into Marcus Jones on one third down and allowed the conversion and then was flagged for pass interference in the end zone later in the drive to set Seattle up on the goal line.
The Seahawk offense started to hum in the second quarter, as the Patriots appeared to have a handful of miscommunications and misplays that helped keep Seattle's drives alive.
5. Trading Field Goals to End the Half
The Patriots executed their third-straight scoring drive of the first half, responding to the Seahawks after they had taken the lead. Hunter Henry continued his torrid game, catching a well-designed screen pass and taking it 35 yards for the biggest play of the game to that point.
However, for the second-straight drive, they'd come to a stop in the red zone as Brissett had three incompletions following Henry's big play. Slye made his second kick of the day, this one from 28 yards out to close Seattle's lead to one point, 14-13, with just under three minutes to play in the first half.
Aided by a personal foul on Seattle, New England's defense forced a punt before halftime. After two consecutive touchdown-scoring drives, it was a needed turnaround for the D.
New England got another crack at a first-half score, taking back over with 1:37 left from their own 8-yard line, but failed to pick up a first down. Bryce Baringer's 65-yard punt was returned 24 yards out to the 50-yard line, giving Seattle the final possession of the half.
Despite a Kyle Dugger sack, Seattle picked up just enough yardage to kick their first field goal of the day, good from 44 yards.
It wasn't the best situational football from the Patriots at the end of the first half. Despite a stop from their defense the offense failed to move the ball or take enough time off the clock. Then, a solid punt return and a big conversion on 3rd-and-7 translated to an expanded deficit heading into halftime.
Seattle led 17-13 at the break.
6. Dugger Gets 4th-Down Stop
The Seahawks received the second-half kickoff and reestablished their offensive rhythm, boosted by a huge conversion on 3rd-and-7 with a 24-yard pass to Jaxson Smith-Njigba. Geno Smith stood tall in the pocket and delivered the strike, moving Seattle into New England territory.
Facing a 4th-and-1 at the Patriots 23, the Seahawks stayed aggressive and went for it, but the play was snuffed out in the backfield by Kyle Dugger as New England aggressively rallied to the ball. Lacking a takeaway to this point, the fourth-down stop was as good as a turnover and gave New England a needed first stop in the second half.
Unfortunately the Patriots offense was unable to build off the big stop, quickly going three-and-out and punting the ball back to Seattle. The good news was that the punt was another bomb by Baringer, travelling 56 yards and getting fair caught at Seattle's 10.
7. Defenses Step Up, Pats Break Through
After the fourth-down stop, the offenses had trouble doing much of anything as both teams traded two three-and-outs each. The defenses stepped up, as the four combined drives netted just 12 yards total.
With time winding down in the third quarter, Stevenson got a drive started with an 18-yard run that took the Pats out to midfield while also giving the Patriots their first first down of the second half. three plays later they'd get a third-down conversion with Brissett hitting Gibson on a wheel route. The Patriots offense started to get some momentum, with Gibson then breaking off another nine-yard run that featured a shifty spin move.
Henry then added another impressive catch to his stat sheet with an 11-yard reception. Brissett had pressure in his face, dropped back enough to buy time and Henry made the catch after being left alone by the blitzers. The catch gave Henry 109 yards in the game, a career-high, and the second 100-yard game of his career.
Stevenson would finish New England's first touchdown scoring drive since the first quarter off with a one-yard carry from the Wildcat formation, giving New England back a 20-17 lead early in the fourth quarter. The Wildcat was a nice twist from Alex Van Pelt and it paid off with six more points.
It was an impressive turnaround drive by the Pats, it lasted 11 plays, went 66 yards and took up over six minutes of game time.
8. Seattle Ties it Up Late
The Patriots defense pitched their third-straight three-and-out of the second half, with Keion White coming up with a key sack in another monster performance for the second-year defensive lineman.
A 45-yard rush by Gibson, one that looked like it was almost dropped to a loss, gave the Pats another explosive play as New England's offense continued to gather momentum until things quickly fizzled. Brissett took a third-down sack and then Joey Slye's 48-yard field goal attempt was blocked.
Seattle took over at their own 38, down by three with four minutes left to play and quickly strung together a drive, moving into New England territory with a variety of quick check-downs and late-play passes that found open receivers.
But New England's defense continued to battle, getting a stop on 3rd-and-1 at their own 15-yard line and forcing the Seahawks to settle for a game-tying 38-yard field goal.
The Patriots offense couldn't get a drive going with under a minute left, punting the ball back to Seattle. The Seahawks had one last shot with 15 seconds left and the ball at their own 24 but chose to go to overtime.
9. Seahawks Take it in OT
The Seahawks lost the toss in overtime and the Patriots took the ball but sputtered for their second straight three-and-out.
Seattle wouldn't need another chance, as they marched down the field, converting a big 3rd-and-6 along the way that put them in game-winning field goal territory. A 31-yard field goal ended it, Seattle 23, New England 20.
10. Patriots Fall to 1-1
With the disappointing overtime loss, New England falls to 1-1 on the season. Some positive elements carried over from last week's win over the Bengals, including hard running, solid special teams play and some clutch defensive plays, but ultimately neither the offense nor the defense could deliver in crunch time, allowing Seattle to steal a comeback win.
Once again it looked like a well-coached complementary game from the team that featured contributions from a lot of different players, but it was Seattle's better passing game that made the difference when it was all on the line.
There will be little time to lament the loss as New England must quickly turn the page to a Thursday night matchup against AFC East rivals the New York Jets.
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