Sep 9, 2026; Seattle, Washington, USA; New England Patriots defensive end Dre'Mont Jones (5) reacts after sacking Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold (14) during the first quarter at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
The New England Patriots dropped their season opener Wednesday night with a 13-10 loss to the Seattle Seahawks.
Here is who caught our eye for better or worse upon live-viewing the Patriots' Week 1 contest.
Winners
ED Dre'Mont Jones: New England entered the regular season with question marks along the edge, but free agent addition Dre'Mont Jones started his Patriots tenure strongly. Jones ended the Seahawks opening drive of the game with a third-down sack and went on to log a team-high six other pressures the rest of the night. The sturdy edge defender also flashed against the run.
CB Christian Gonzalez: After inking his record-breaking contract extension roughly 48 hours ago, Gonzalez looked in mid-season form Wednesday night. The Patriots top corner allowed just two catches on five targets, including just one reception for five yards and a pass breakup while in coverage on Jaxon Smith-Njigba (16 routes).
WR Mack Hollins: Even before A.J. Brown's injury, Hollins played the second-most amount of snaps in the wide receiver room as he continued to hold a large offensive role. Hollins' made several key plays over the middle of the field and finished with a team-high 51 receiving yards on four catches, his biggest being a 4th-and-9 conversion late in the fourth quarter.
Losers
QB Drake Maye: Unacceptable.
That was the word Drake Maye used to describe his performance post game, which sums things up. Maye used his legs and the underneath passing attack to move the football early in the game while they built a 10-0 lead. Averaging just 2.4 air yards per pass, Maye was 17-of-22 for 127 yards and a touchdown playing an efficient style of offense.
Then, the quarterback admitted he lost patience in the fourth quarter. Maye threw three bad fourth quarter interceptions as he hunted big plays — seeing his average air yards per attempt jump to 8.0 in the final frame. Seattle played nearly 90 percent of their defense in zone to limit explosives, and Maye's aggressiveness and poor decisions late cost the Patriots on Wednesday.
WR Romeo Doubs: New England's free agent pass catcher failed to haul in any of his three targets in his Patriots debut Wednesday night. Doubs had a bad drop downfield before Maye's next pass was intercepted, and was earlier the target on Maye's first interception of the night.
"I just wasn't locked in enough. That's all," Doubs said post game. "Like I said, I'll be better."
LG Alijah Vera-Tucker: The Patriots did a better job of blocking things in front of Drake Maye than they did in the Super Bowl, as the quarterback was under pressure on 12 of his 42 drop backs (28.6%). It wasn't perfect, however, as Maye was sacked three times and still faced some free rushers. Free agent addition Alijah Vera-Tucker allowed a team-high four pressures and was on scene for one of the sacks allowed as he failed to pick up a stunt off the left side. The 27-year old hopefully just had some rust to shake off on a new offensive line after missing all of last season.
Honorable mentions
Rhamondre Stevenson handled a heavy workload (85% of snaps) in the backfield and totaled 95 scrimmage yards on 23 touches. The Patriots run game as a whole struggled with a 22% success rate as Stevenson averaged 2.8 YPC and saw 50 of his 51 rushing yards come after contact.
Eli Raridon caught his first career touchdown on his first career catch on a play-action delayed release.
Will Campbell had a clean sheet in pass protection. He was on the left side on the aforementioned stunt and was called for holding in the run game.
Elsewhere on the edge, rookie Gabe Jacas had some strong moments after a shaky preseason. Jacas logged his first career sack on a hustle play and flashed his athleticism to record a TFL.
As a whole, the Patriots run defense remained inconsistent vs. Seattle. With some Super Bowl flashbacks, rookie Jadarian Price found running room outside the tackles.
Christian Barmore had three pressures on 18 pass rush snaps.
In addition to Gonzalez, cornerback Carlton Davis didn't allow a catch on two receptions while also recording two run stuffs.
Andy Borregales knocked through a 50-yard field goal and his lone extra point.
Punter Mitch Wishnowsky had an impressive Patriots debut with three i20s while helping limit electric returner Rashid Shaheed to just one return for nine yards. New England's coverage teams deserve credit as well, such as rookie Namdi Obiazor who recorded three special teams tackles.
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