The Seattle Seahawks picked up where they left off last season: with a victory over the New England Patriots. Week 1 wasn't always pretty, but the second half was better, and the final score was beautiful.
Seattle showed it could survive without Sam Darnold, too, at least temporarily. Darnold hurt his hip on the first drive of the game and didn't play again. Thankfully, his backup was quite good. Of course, most quarterbacks would be helped by being able to throw the ball to Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
The defense was once again elite, keeping Seattle in the game into the second half. Seattle also intercepted Patriots quarterback Drake Maye three times, sacked him three times, and held the Pats to 3.5 yards per carry. That is winning football.
Reactions from the Seattle Seahawks come-from-behind victory over the New England Patriots in Week 1
Jaxon Smith-Njigba really is that good
No matter how happy Christian Gonzalez was after signing a new extension with the Patriots in the days leading up to the game, he is simply one guy in a scheme that couldn't contain Smith-Njigba. JSN got off to a slightly slow start, but it is how one finishes that matters. In the end, Smith-Njigba was back to being one of the best wideouts in the league.
He finished with eight catches on 11 targets for 122 yards and a touchdown. And that touchdown was special. On fourth-and-1 in the fourth quarter, Smith-Njigba took a short pass from Drew Lock in the middle of the field, turned, and then out-sprinted everyone for the tying score. He proved that his 4.53 40-yard time before he was drafted was a lie. JSN can fly.
Mike Macdonald reconfirms genius with how well the secondary played
No Nick Emmanwori and no Ty Okada? No problem, at least for now. Instead, Seattle played Rodney Thomas II and AJ Finley, who had just been signed or elevated from the practice squad, and they were terrific. Whatever words Macdonald speaks to defensive backs, especially, are pure magic.
Plus, cornerback Nehemiah Pritchett had maybe the best game of his life. He was on the screen a lot, but almost always in positive situations, including getting an interception. Maybe he really was worth choosing in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Drew Lock just increased his asking price in 2027 free agency
After Sam Darnold was lost after the first drive of the game, Lock entered, and it took him just a bit to get up to game speed. This would happen with almost every QB, of course, and notably, Lock wasn't making mistakes immediately.
He was crisp with his passes, made smart decisions, didn't put the ball in harm's way, and he was even successful on plays he hadn't practiced. His short toss to JSN for the touchdown was something new to the quarterback, for instance.
Lock is a free agent next offseason, and he has two choices. Stay with the Seattle Seahawks, stay a backup to Darnold, and be happy to help raise his family in the area (and he appears to love the area). Or he could try one more time to be a starting quarterback somewhere else. The way he played in Week 1, he might be able to ask for a bit more money from a new team in 2027.
Jadarian Price is going to be really good
Price could have gotten a bit more in the first half than he did, because he began the game exceedingly well. On his first six carries, he was averaging seven yards per rush. That wasn't because he broke off one long run, either. On nearly every run, he was gaining solid yards.
Some pundits didn't like that the running back was chosen in the first round, but mostly because of his position and not because of the player Price is. What is clear from the Seahawks defeating the Patriots in Week 1 is that Jadarian Price is going to be a very good player and will likely be fully worthy of being chosen in round one.
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