Table of Contents
Good morning, I’m Dan Gartland. I’m back from my vacation, where I ran into Colin Cowherd at the smoothie shop. Just two equally influential sports media figures who like to start their day with a healthy mix of fruit and greens.
In today’s SI:AM:
😬 Darnold injured in opener
🪐 The McVay-Verse
⚾ Jeter reflects on 2001 World Series
If you’re reading this on SI.com, click here to subscribeand receive SI:AM directly in your inbox each morning.
Seattle’s defense is still impenetrable
First, the good news: Football is back!
The bad news: Most of last night’s season opener was about as dull as the Super Bowl the Seahawks and Patriots played seven months ago. Eight of the teams’ first 11 possessions ended with a punt. Seattle’s defense clamped down on the Patriots in the same way it had in Santa Clara in February, while the Seahawks’ offense spun its wheels with Drew Lock under center after Sam Darnold was injured on the opening drive.
The fourth quarter made up for the uneventful start to the game, though. The Seahawks finally got something going on offense, scoring 10 points to take the lead. Patriots quarterback Drake Maye, meanwhile, was picked off on all three of New England’s possessions in the final quarter, including a back-breaking interception in the final 30 seconds when the Pats were within range to attempt a game-tying field goal. Seattle came away with a 13–10 victory.
Each of Maye’s three picks was more confounding than the last. First, he threw into double coverage. Then, he stared down his receiver as a safety darted over to cover him. The third pick required an impressive sideline toe-tap by Seattle DB Josh Jobe, but it was an even poorer decision by Maye than the previous two.
Maye, under pressure from veteran DeMarcus Lawrence, threw a weak pass off his back foot toward a receiver who was tightly covered. It was third-and-5 from the Seahawks’ 16-yard line. If Maye had tucked the ball and taken the sack back at the Seattle 25, the Patriots still could have let the clock run down and taken a timeout to send Andres Borregales out for a makeable field goal attempt that would force overtime.
It’s been years since we’ve seen a quarterback throw a pick in that situation. The last time a quarterback threw an interception in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter or overtime with his team in field goal range and trailing by no more than three points was 2022, when Josh Allen was picked off in the end zone in overtime of a game against the Vikings. There have been 31 such interceptions since 1977 (as far back as Pro Football Reference’s data goes), and Maye’s is among the worst of the bunch. Only 10 of them occurred in the final 30 seconds of a game, and of those 10, only six came on plays where the ball was snapped in the red zone.
Maye had an excellent sophomore season last year, but last night’s dud will only add credence to the questions about whether his breakout was a result of the Patriots’ soft schedule. Though New England reached the Super Bowl last season, Maye didn’t play particularly well in the playoffs. Over his last five games (four postseason games last season, plus last night’s opener), he’s thrown seven touchdowns and seven interceptions while completing 60.8% of his passes. Until he performs as well against playoff contenders as he does against AFC East bottom dwellers, people will question whether last season was a fluke. The fact that he cost his team a game with what is, without exaggeration, one of the most costly interceptions in NFL history doesn’t help his case.
The best of Sports Illustrated
- Matt Verderame:The McVay-Verse: How One Coaching Tree Took Over the NFL
- Conor Orr:Sam Darnold’s Injury May Finally Show Us How Valuable He Is to the Seahawks
- Matt Verderame:Five On-Field Storylines That Are Key in Week 1
- Tom Verducci: Derek Jeter’s Most Meaningful World Series Was the One He Lost
- Tom Verducci:Paul Skenes Has Uncomfortably Transformed Into a Pitching Craftsman
- Karl Rasmussen:Where Pete Crow-Armstrong’s 2026 Season Stands in Cubs History
- Bryan Fischer: LSU Finally Backed Down, But the SEC Still Has a Problem
- Pat Forde:College Football Playoff Expansion Is the Sport’s Worst Idea Yet
- Dan Lyons:Group of 6 Power Rankings: What Boise State, Western Michigan’s Dramatic Week 1 Losses Mean for CFP Race
The top five…
… moments from the NFL’s season opener:
5. The first touchdown of the season, by Patriots rookie tight end Eli Raridon.
4. Nehemiah Pritchett’s tip drill interception.
3. Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s acceleration to leave the defense in the dust on Seattle’s lone touchdown of the night.
2. Cooper Kupp’s outrageous one-handed catch.
1. Kevin Harlan’s radio call of Josh Jobe’s game-sealing interception.
Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow
Loading recommendations… Please wait while we load personalized content recommendations
Published | Modified 
DAN GARTLAND
Dan Gartland writes Sports Illustrated’s flagship daily newsletter, SI:AM, and is the host of the “Stadium Wonders” video series. He joined the SI staff in 2014, having previously been published on Deadspin and Slate. Gartland, a graduate of Fordham University, is a former Sports Jeopardy! champion (Season 1, Episode 5).
Share on XFollow Dan_GartlandShare on FacebookShare on XHome/NFLOriginal Article
