SEATTLE – In the fifth game of their reign, terrible feelings entered. The Seattle Seahawks were unveiling their 2025 championship banner when quarterback Sam Darnold started biting. He tried to run. His right hip resisted.
He touched his sore side. he shouted. He was knocked to the sideline and then to the locker room. Just like that, a team that won a Super Bowl while still on the rise heard the first buzz of the new season. The Seahawks found out how difficult it is to repeat in Wednesday night’s game in an unfamiliar league. The first start to this NFL season has been very poor.
They still won. They came back from a 10-point deficit to score 30 in a flurry of offense. They beat the New England Patriots 13-10 at Lumen Field in a different way than the team they beat in Super Bowl 60. The Seahawks were tough and smart. They have been the team they are built to be, even if they are vulnerable without their quarterback.
How good is Darnold? His absence made his value clear.
How good are the Seahawks overall? The rally showed their champion qualities.
How can they stay good together? Fingers crossed that the bad luck of the season opener doesn’t linger.
As the long night ended, Seahawks coach Mike McDonald seemed encouraged that Darnold avoided at least one worst-case scenario. He said that in the past, medical tests did not detect fractures. But the Seahawks don’t yet know the extent of his hamstring injury.
“It’s positive, good news,” McDonald said.
And then: “…uh…let’s just say it’s good news.”
And soon after: “Our thoughts and prayers are with Sam.
The guy might be able to give them a PhD in coaching, but don’t call him Dr. MacDonald.
The Seahawks beat the Patriots to start the 2026 NFL season
If Darnold can avoid missing significant time — if he can return in a month or less — the Seahawks could survive. Backup quarterback Drew Lock could make the team a contender. To me, the No. 2 measure of quality is whether a team can win half a game with a replacement starter. Locke’s job is to play a simple game to get the rest of Seattle’s all-around defense to pick up, but he has a strong desire to highlight the play of wide receiver Jackson Smith-Njigba.
After being forced into action, Locke was expectedly vanilla to begin with, but he was exceptional as the game progressed. He completed 16 of 22 passes for 187 yards with one touchdown and no turnovers. Last season’s striker of the year, Smith-Njigba put up notable numbers. He finished with eight receptions for 122 yards, including a 45-yard score on a smart fourth-and-1 play early in the fourth quarter that tied the game.
It was a play that Locke didn’t run. But he was ready. He’s the football nurse who keeps a whiteboard by his bedside when he feels like drawing out a theatrical sketch. This is one way to stay cool even when not playing.
“That’s my thing,” Locke said, “to be able to visualize it when I read it, it’s in my head.”
It’s always easy to see when JSN catches a game-changing pass.
“It’s like a classic football play,” Locke said of the fourth-down trick. But, no, I will definitely never run it. It seemed ridiculous before the moment. As far as I know we have a run, they don’t seem to have anyone who matches Jax. He is the third read in the game.
Can the Seattle Seahawks survive Sam Darnold’s absence?
Robert Mays and Derek Klassen
But this game wasn’t really a defensive offense. It was about the Seahawks defense, with a depleted secondary, that once again humiliated New England quarterback Drake Maye.
For most of last season, May looked like the next top-tier NFL QB. He finished second in the MVP voting. He has the size, arm talent and athleticism to lead the next generation of signal callers. Only 24 years old, he runs the game like a 10-year veteran. To extend his development, the Patriots traded for AJ Brown, a true No. 1 receiver. Maye is doing well.
But as we’ve seen the last two times, he’s faced a self-proclaimed “dark side” Seattle defense. The Seahawks defensive line constantly pressures him and mixes up effective blitzes. In a 29-13 Super Bowl blowout, Seattle didn’t relent until the closing minutes. On Wednesday, the Patriots had a better offensive game plan, scrambling for yards gained and using the Seahawks’ offensive style against them. But then came the fourth quarter, and Maye played like an undrafted rookie handed the playbook.
May threw an interception to end New England’s final three possessions, each more horrendous than the last. On the last errant throw, a pop fly into the end zone landed in cornerback Josh Jobe. A mistake by the wide receiver was disastrous for the team to attempt a game-tying field goal.
“See ball, get ball,” Jobe said of his approach.
May, Brown seems to be throwing free t-shirts into the crowd after going out early with an ankle injury. Darnold spent the night in pain, but was still in better shape than his counterpart.
For the Seahawks, it was fitting that Jobe had his last big game. He was fooled by a flea-flicker earlier in the game and a pass interference penalty cost the Patriots their only touchdown. His game-clinching pick can be seen as redemption. In reality, however, champions should only have an endurance score.
“The No. 1 thing we have, we need a way. I think the mark of a great team is being able to win in different ways,” said safety Julian Love, one of Wednesday’s stars.
Drew Lock did what was needed for Seattle in Week 1. (Jane Gershovich/Getty Images)
The Seahawks’ pregame banner ceremony was not a preview of what was to come. It was a celebration of what happened. Quickly, the game reinforced those who have been preaching about the 2026 season. They have to chase their own level, and the rest of the league chases them. The crown is heavy. The hype about the Los Angeles Rams’ star-studded roster helps lighten the burden, but doesn’t eliminate it. They knew that this season would be difficult, and when they played four to the trip, the problem would increase.
But you are bound to accept the challenge.
“I think there’s something to be said for what you do for yourself in the NFL,” said wide receiver Cooper Kupp, who has two Super Bowl rings. “Everybody on this team has hope that we can find a way to win, and that goes a long way. There’s power behind it.”
Can the Seahawks still be the Seahawks without Darnold?
For one night, the answer was yes. Barely yes, but still yes.
He started the new season with a banner run, a quarterback going down and a challenger finding a new way to beat Seattle. Some things about the Seahawks have changed at an alarming rate. Badgering the Patriots is clearly not one of them.
