After making the New England Patriots dream run to Super Bowl LX, New England Patriots fans enter the 2026 season hoping for even bigger things in the coming year.
With the acquisition of AJ Brown as well as the offensive line and other additions, there was hope that the team could take a step forward, and last season was not the season. But there was one word on every Patriots fan’s mind that might give them pause before the season begins.
And that word may be on the front of their minds right now.
There were certainly fears the team might take a step back, with a .391 winning percentage — the lowest a team has ever advanced to the Super Bowl — but especially from quarterback Drake Maye. A season ago on that schedule, Maye played himself into MVP consideration thanks to a combination of success pushing the ball up the field and his ability to avoid costly mistakes. May led the NFL in several statistical categories, including yards per attempt (8.9), adjusted yards per attempt (9.5), QBR (77.5), net yards per attempt (7.8) and adjusted yards per attempt (8.3).
He did just that as he threw eight interceptions all year.
But he threw three on Seattle’s opening night, including one he called an “unacceptable” turnover, that ended New England’s chances of winning.
The first is an example of a quarterback trying to do too much. New England had a 10-3 lead early in the fourth quarter and faced 2nd and 9 at the Seattle 45-yard line. Working out of play-action, Maye has a deep scrum route from Mack Hollins and a vertical route from Romeo Dobbs to pick from.
He tries to hit the vertical route, forcing a throw – thrown – into intercepted and intercepted coverage.
He said after the game.Maye called this play an example of not being “patient” as a quarterback.
Oh, sure. I can’t wait anymore. I think that’s the biggest thing. We were doing really well until I tried to force one into Romeo (Dubs) on the side and we patiently pulled him out and tried to move the chains. And we missed a lot of 3-and-outs, and that was something we were trying to get more plays in the tunnel. And we just gave up patience and went through the decisions that ended us just like I said.
(Copy in PatsFans.com).
Seattle tied the game, and the Patriots didn’t help themselves on their next drive, with an illegal penalty on the play as New England started the drive at their own 10-yard line. When they picked up the first down, they faced 3rd and 14 at their own 22-yard line a few plays later.
Enter hack number two:
The Patriots call another straight concept from Pop Douglas with Mack Hollins and Dubs taking routes to the outside. Seattle drops to a Cover 6 look here, with a Cover 2 side on the combination of Douglas and Dubs, and a Cover 4 side to Hollins.
While Douglas and May don’t seem to be on the same page, the biggest problem may be May’s eyes. As you can see from the end zone angle, he gives Douglas a long look down the road, leading safety Julian Love straight to the football.
Despite those two mistakes, the Patriots had a chance to salvage the night with a win. Following this second intermission, New England’s defense forced Seattle’s field goal to make it 13-10, and the Patriots had already taken the lead or at least forced overtime.
New England drove right into field goal range, converting a 4th-and-2 for one score to extend the drive on a boot from May. After Rhamondre Stevenson’s run picked up eight yards and moved New England to Seattle’s 28-yard line, the Seahawks burned their last possession to give New England full control of the clock.
But with just 26 seconds left and the Patriots facing 3rd-and-5 at the Seattle 16-yard line, this is what happened:
We’ll get to May’s decision in a moment, but full credit to DeMarcus Lawrence on the edge. New England was asking Will Campbell and Morgan Moses to cut off the edges more often to slow Seattle’s pass rush. Lawrence blocks Moses and then stays in perfect position to put May in his pocket and pressure him to make a decision.
A poor one at that. May he said. After the loss:
Yes, I think we have the game under control. I thought we had a good plan to start cutting and put up with it. And I got impatient, and it cost us. I think it’s just decisions on my part and mine that cost us the game. And I made a promise to myself to get better and realize it’s a long season, but at the same time, you can’t get those. You can’t have those. And it’s not acceptable. And I knew I had to get back to work because there was no way I was going to play football and represent my game and play quarterback for the Patriots.
Maye then discussed the final game:
Yeah, there was something where we had some protection where we were cutting, and I was trying to get rid of it and I realized that we were – Mack was back there and didn’t do enough to get him out. And it was just unacceptable. At worst we had the chance to send it to overtime. And the only thing you can do is turn the ball. And that’s what I did.
By the third interception, May finished the night by completing 23-of-33 passes for 178 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions. While it wasn’t all bad — he made some big plays with his legs and seemed to at least have an answer for Seattle’s defense until the fourth quarter — those three interceptions are the headlines.
A Week 1 loss doesn’t make a season, and the Patriots know that as well. It started last year with a 20-13 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders, a team that went on to secure the first overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
But the Patriots have games against three AFC playoff hopefuls in the next three weeks: the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Buffalo Bills. And the version of May we saw Wednesday night in Seattle, the impatient version, could struggle with those teams, too.
One game doesn’t make a season, but Wednesday night’s loss will have Patriots fans thinking about that one word.