Drew Lock Rallies Seahawks Past Patriots After Sam Darnold Hurts Hip

The Seattle Seahawks opened their Super Bowl title defense with a 13-10 comeback win over the New England Patriots on Wednesday night, but the victory came at a cost: starting quarterback Sam Darnold lasted a single series before a hip injury ended his night.

Backup Drew Lock led Seattle back from a 10-0 deficit at Lumen Field, and the Seahawks' defense intercepted Patriots quarterback Drake Maye on each of New England's final three possessions. The result gives the defending champions a 1-0 start in a rematch of February's Super Bowl. The larger question is how long they will be without the quarterback who led them to that title. The team has ruled out a fracture, but coach Mike Macdonald said it is too early to know whether Darnold will be ready for the next game.

Darnold hurt on the first drive

Darnold went down on a third-down play during Seattle's opening possession, sacked from behind by Patriots defensive lineman Dre'Mont Jones, a former Seahawk. He landed hard, got up limping and headed to the locker room. The team ruled him out before halftime.

An initial CT scan at Harborview Medical Center was described as encouraging but not conclusive, and Darnold underwent an MRI on Thursday. Seattle has not set a timetable for his return.

Lock steadies the offense

Lock, who had not seen extended regular-season action since 2024, finished 16 of 22 for 187 yards with a touchdown, no interceptions and one sack.

For most of the night, New England looked like the better team. The Patriots led 7-0 at halftime and pushed the margin to 10-0 before Seattle's offense found any rhythm. Jason Myers got the Seahawks on the board with a 30-yard field goal.

The tying score came on fourth down near midfield. With pressure closing in, Lock flipped a screen pass to Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who found open space and ran untouched for a 45-yard touchdown. Smith-Njigba finished with eight catches for 122 yards.

Myers then hit a 26-yard field goal for the go-ahead points, capping a run of 13 unanswered points.

Three late interceptions

Seattle's defense did the rest. Maye was picked off on each of New England's last three drives, by cornerback Nehemiah Pritchett, safety Julian Love and cornerback Josh Jobe, shutting down every chance the Patriots had to tie the game or retake the lead.

The night also brought an injury worry for New England. Wide receiver A.J. Brown hurt his ankle in his first game with the Patriots.

For coach Mike Vrabel's team, the loss wasted a defensive performance that kept the champions out of the end zone for most of the game and took their starting quarterback off the field.

Why the opener was on a Wednesday

The NFL's kickoff game usually falls on a Thursday. This year, the Thursday night slot went to the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams, who were scheduled to meet at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in the league's first regular-season game in Australia. That left Seattle and New England to open the season a night early.

What happens next

Seattle hosts the Arizona Cardinals on Sept. 20, and Darnold's hip will be the dominant storyline of the week. If he cannot play, Lock is the obvious choice after leading the comeback, though the Seahawks will want more than one touchdown from their offense against a division opponent.

New England, which reached the Super Bowl last season, heads into Week 2 looking for answers in its passing game after Maye's three late turnovers, and it will be watching Brown's ankle closely. For a team that led for most of the night and still lost, the opener was a reminder of how quickly a close game can slip away.

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