Seattle, Wash. – The Patriots dropped their season opener in a 13-10 loss to the Seahawks at Lumen Field in Seattle on Wednesday night.

My plan heading into the game was to write about wonky Week 1 results and how they're not a good indicator for the rest of the season. We've seen the Patriots beat the Bengals in the Jerod Mayo year, then lose to the last-place Raiders in Vrabel's coaching debut with the Patriots: one of those teams went 4-13 and the other went to the Super Bowl — Week 1 results lie, so don't fall for it. Speaking to reporters after the game, head coach Mike Vrabel shared a similar sentiment, calling it the first game in a 17-game season.

"It's a long season. We're going to hold our head up high. We have nothing but the utmost confidence in (Drake Maye) and everyone on this football team," Vrabel said post-game.

That said, the way the game unfolded in Seattle makes it tougher to take the long view, especially after the Seahawks lost starting QB Sam Darnold to injury in the first quarter – this was a winnable game that the Patriots let slip through their fingers. After leading 10-0 late into the third quarter, the Patriots unraveled with three fourth-quarter interceptions by QB Drake Maye that flipped the game in Seattle's favor: it wasn't the "12s" on banner night that did them in. It was the Seahawks defense that won the night once again.

According to the Pats quarterback, Maye "lost patience," while throwing three fourth-quarter interceptions, including a game-changing pick on a deep throw intended for WR Romeo Doubs when the Patriots had control of the game and an interception in the end zone with 26 seconds left (a field goal would've sent the game into overtime). All three of Maye's interceptions were on throws over 15 air yards, with the Seahawks defense flexing its strength of defending deep passes.

"I just stopped being patient. We were really good up to the point where I forced one up the sideline to Romeo (Doubs)," said Maye. "Just stopped being patient and made decisions that cost us the game."

The other second-guess will focus on whether the Patriots could've extended their 10-0 lead with more aggressive play-calling earlier in the game. To stay balanced offensively, the Patriots ran the ball 16 times on first down, with only a 24% early-down rushing success rate. New England also ran a 3rd-and-5 draw before halftime, settling for a field goal. The game plan seemed to be to keep the Seahawks defense from taking over while grinding out a win, and it worked for three quarters.

Ultimately, the hope is that we'll look back at the Patriots season-opener this year similarly to last year's Week 1 loss to the Raiders. A wonky, early blip on the way to another deep playoff run where Maye learns an important lesson: you can't go broke taking a profit.

Here are eight takeaways from the Patriots loss to the Seahawks in Seattle in Week 1.

1. QB Drake Maye Laments 'Losing Patience' in Loss to the Seahawks

Rather than editorializing about Maye's performance, the Patriots quarterback said the quiet part out loud about how the game got away from him on Wednesday night.

As a young gunslinger in the NFL, Maye wants to make big plays, which we've seen him do countless times. However, defenses like the Seahawks stress quarterbacks by making them march the field one nickel and dime at a time by preventing explosive plays. Seattle played 88.1% of Maye's 42 drop-backs in zone coverage. More specifically, 24 snaps were in split-safety zone coverage that are designed to keep a lid on the offense.

In the first three quarters, Maye and the Patriots managed the game well, with the Seahawks turning to backup QB Drew Lock after starter Sam Darnold left the game in the first quarter. The Pats QB was 17-of-22 for 127 passing yards and a touchdown in the first three quarters. Maye averaged only 5.8 yards per pass attempt, but he was efficient, keeping the ball out of harm's way by taking profits underneath Seattle's zones.

As we mentioned earlier, Maye then began to force the issue while trying to put the game away with a lead in the second half. In the fourth quarter, he was 6-of-11 for 51 yards and three interceptions. It was a classic case of a young quarterback losing the desire to play boring football, with Maye's average air yards per pass attempt skyrocketing to 8.0 yards in the fourth quarter compared to 2.4 air yards in the first three frames.

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The interception that flipped the momentum came early in the fourth quarter, with the Patriots driving to the SEA 45. Maye tried to hit WR Romeo Doubs on a fade down the left sideline with Mack Hollins running a vertical stem at the half-field safety clouding that side of the field in cover two. Seahawks backup S Rodney Thomas read Maye throwing into the sideline. He was able to get over the top of Doubs's route, tipping the ball to CB Nehemiah Pritchett, who caught the deflection for an interception.

To the Seahawks credit, Pritchett and Thomas are backups who were playing because of injury, with Thomas being elevated from the practice squad with safeties Nick Emmanwori and Ty Okada inactive. It's a testament to HC Mike Macdonald's coaching and scheme that Seattle's backups were ready to go. That said, sometimes boring football is good enough to win, especially when the opponent loses its starting quarterback early in the game. Hopefully, Maye grows from a difficult loss.

2. WR A.J. Brown Leaves Game in Third Quarter with Ankle Injury

The Seahawks losing their starting quarterback five plays into the game was notable, but the Patriots also lost star WR A.J. Brown to an ankle injury early in the second half. Pritchett landed on the back of his ankle/leg while defending the pass at 13:30 of the third quarter. Brown was eventually ruled out of the game and was seen leaving the Patriots locker room with a walking boot on his right foot by reporters. Unfortunately, Brown's debut with the Patriots was cut short after three catches for 26 yards. Vrabel didn't have an update on Brown's prognosis after the game, with the team traveling back to Foxborough early Thursday morning.

3. LT Will Campbell, Pats Pass Protection Bounces Back from Super Bowl Loss

Although the running game was a grind, the Patriots offensive line delivered a solid performance in pass protection. On initial viewing, Maye was only under pressure on 28.6% of his drop-backs, with LT Will Campbell having a clean sheet on a 1-on-1 pass sets. Campbell and LG Alijah Vera-Tucker, who had some struggles in his Patriots debut (four pressures allowed), did get beat by a line stunt on a sack. Seattle also generated some free runners at Maye as well with their blitz schemes, but overall, the O-Line fared much better against the Seahawks front this time around. The run game remains a work in progress, though.

4. Fresh Off Contract Extension, CB Christian Gonzalez Battles with Jaxon Smith-Njigba

The Patriots signed Gonzalez to a record-breaking contract extension 48 hours before the season kicked off on Wednesday night. The Pats star corner then shadowed Smith-Njigba on 16 of his 26 routes, allowing just one catch for five yards with a pass breakup while covering JSN. However, a key development was the Seahawks finding ways to get Smith-Njigba away from Gonzalez, with the Seahawks star catching seven passes for 117 yards vs. defenders other than Gonzalez, including a game-tying 45-yard touchdown.

On the touchdown, the Seahawks ran a play-action concept to sneak the running back into the flat for a 4th-and-1 conversion. Gonzalez saw the back release and jumped him in the flat, leaving Smith-Njigba for S Craig Woodson behind him. Unfortunately, Woodson couldn't close fast enough on Smith-Njigba, missed the tackle and the Seahawks wideout got loose for a long touchdown in the biggest play of the game. There will likely be a lot of chatter about how the Seahawks got Smith-Njigba away from Gonzalez in this one.

5. Patriots Run Defense Inconsistent vs. Seahawks Outside Zone Schemes

Another talking point coming out of the Super Bowl was the Patriots iffy run defense, especially on runs aimed outside the tackles. On Wednesday night, Seahawks rookie Jadarian Price averaged 5.2 yards per rush in his NFL debut (10 carries, 52 yards). Price did most of his damage on outside zone runs, either bouncing around the edges or cutting back through the middle. In all, Price had five successful runs with two runs of 10-plus yards to just two stuffed runs. There were some good moments and the final advanced stats weren't bad (-0.19 EPA per rush, 29% success rate). But the vibes were similar to the Super Bowl early in the contest.

6. EDGEs Gabe Jacas and Dre'Mont Jones Log Sacks in Patriots Debut

Entering the regular season, there were justifiable concerns about the Patriots edge rusher group. The Pats are playing without Harold Landry III (PUP list) and have only four edge defenders on the 53-man roster, with questions about top-end talent and depth in the room. Well, Jacas looked much more comfortable than in his preseason performances, with a sack and a tackle for loss while Jones had a team-high seven pressures (sack, six hurries). New England generated only a 20% pressure rate on four-man rushes, so there's room for improvement, but the early returns on Jacas and Jones were positive. Jacas credited the coaching staff for preparing him for the game. If they can get that kind of play from the rookie, it would be huge.

7. Patriots Ride RB Rhamondre Stevenson Without TreVeyon Henderson (Ankle)

With second-year RB TreVeyon Henderson (ankle) inactive for the game, Stevenson played 57-of-67 offensive plays for an 85.1% snap rate. The Pats running back was inconsistent on 18 carries for 51 yards with four successful runs to five stuffed runs, but the blocking was shaky as well, especially on the edges where the Seahawks controlled the matchup vs. the Pats tight ends in the run game. The non-linemen blocking the edges and force defenders to spring longer runs continues to be an issue for the Patriots offense dating back to last season.

8. Patriots Special Teams Mostly Clean in a Hostile Environment

The Patriots special teams had a solid showing in the Patriots season opener, with K Andy Borregales making a 50-yard field goal before halftime and P Mitch Wishnowsky booting a 43-yard punt out of his own end zone. The Pats did a nice job limiting explosive return man Rasheed Shaheed in kickoff and punt coverage as well. The lone blemishes were two penalties in the kicking game. Still, it was good to see rookie LB Namdi Obiazor (two solo tackles) and company limit Shaheed while the two specialists did their jobs on Wednesday night.

The Patriots will now have 11 days off to rest and recover from their loss to the Seahawks, returning to the practice field on Monday before turning the page to the Steelers in Week 2.

DISCLAIMER: The views and thoughts expressed in this article are those of the writer and don't necessarily reflect those of the organization. Read Full Disclaimer