The New England Patriots squared off against the Seattle Seahawks on September 20 at CenturyLink Field in Seattle, Washington. The matchup was the ninth meeting (including playoffs) between Cam Newton and Russell Wilson, two guys who have been at the top of the heap of the next generation of talented young quarterbacks (with kids such as Deshaun Watson, Patrick Mahomes, and Lamar Jackson entering the mix as well). The game lived up to the hype, as it was a seesaw, back and forth affair with multiple ties included.
At halftime, the two teams were knotted up at 14-14. After halftime, the Seahawks started to pull away, eventually taking a 35-23 lead. However, the Patriots rose from the dead, as Newton led a 75-yard touchdown drive to cut the lead to 35-30. Following a Seahawks punt, the Patriots got the ball back with 1:42 seconds left on the clock. The Patriots pulled together a 79-yard drive, reaching the Seattle 1-yard line. However, on the final play of the game, Newton was stuffed short of the goal line, as the Seahawks defeated the Patriots by a final score of 35-30. Here are my takeaways from the offensive and defensive sides of the football.
Offense
The Patriots one issue offensively in this game was their run blocking. They totaled 67 yards on the ground, averaging a paltry 2.7 yards per carry. Beyond that, however, the Patriots offense had an excellent rhythm, picking up 29 first downs, and gaining 464 yards on the night. Cam Newton continued to run the ball at a high volume, running 11 times for 47 yards and 2 touchdowns against Seattle (following his 15 carries in the first week against Miami). Newton made one mistake throwing the ball. In the third quarter, Seahawks cornerback Quinton Dunbar (2 passes deflected in this game) jumped a route by Patriots receiver Damiere Byrd. On the following drive, Wilson capitalized by throwing a 21-yard touchdown pass to receiver Freddie Swain. Aside from that mistake, Newton was superb throwing the football. He was accurate all night, completing 30 of 44 passes (68 percent) for 397 yards and a touchdown. Newton connected with receiver Julian Edelman on 8 of his 11 targets for 179 yards, including a beautiful 33-yard completion down the seam in the fourth quarter (which set up a Newton rushing touchdown).
Defense
The Patriots had major issues defensively. The Seahawks bread and butter rushing attack (led by dynamic running backs Chris Carson and Carlos Hyde) gashed the Patriots to a tune of 154 yards (at 5.1 yards per run). However, those struggles paled in comparison to their struggles against the pass (in spite a 43-yard interception returned for a touchdown by safety Devin McCourty). Russell Wilson threw 5 touchdown passes on the night. Most alarmingly, Wilson torched the Patriots secondary (the presumed strength of their roster) downfield with touchdowns to receivers DK Metcalf (54 yards) and David Moore (38 yards). The Seahawks moved the ball at will the whole night, as they chewed up 75 yards on three of their five touchdown drives. The Patriots absolutely have to tighten up their defense when they return to Foxboro for their matchup against the high scoring Las Vegas Raiders (who are coming off an impressive victory Monday night against the New Orleans Saints).
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