Position Grades From The Patriots’ Loss To The Seahawks

The New England Patriots started their 2026 season the way they ended their 2025 campaign, with a loss to the Seattle Seahawks. The 13-10 game was as tightly-contested as the final score indicated, meaning that the visiting Patriots were not as bad as their minus-3 turnover differential or current 0-1 record would suggest.

We already spoke about the standout performances from the game. Now, after rewatching it through broadcast copy and coach’s film, here are our final position grades from the Patriots’ defeat.

Patriots position grades from NFL Week 1

Quarterback: For three quarters, Drake Maye played the game he needed to play for the Patriots to win. He took what the defense gave him, showed good accuracy in the short and intermediate parts of the field, and most importantly did not make any back-breaking mistakes. Then came the fourth quarter and a dramatic flipping of the switch. The patience he showed earlier disappeared as he launched a deep ball toward a double-covered Romeo Doubs that ended up as the first of three interceptions. That pick was a turning point for New England and its young QB, who still made some positive plays but ultimately crumbled while trying his version of “hero ball.” | Grade: D+

Running back: No TreVeyon Henderson meant a heavy workload for Rhamondre Stevenson, and he did what he could. Ultimately, however, he found little room to run en route to gaining just 51 yards on 18 carries for an underwhelming 2.8-yard average. He was more effective as a receiver, finishing with 44 yards on five catches, but did give up one hit against Drake Maye. The only other backs to see action — Corey Kiner and Lan Larison — combined to play 11 snaps, with the former carrying the ball six times for 11 yards and the latter working exclusively as a receiver and gaining 9 yards on a pair of receptions. | Grade: B-

Wide receiver: The Patriots’ new-look receiver group had a challenging first day. A.J. Brown was lost to a high-ankle sprain after catching three passes for 26 yards, while fellow offseason pickup Romeo Doubs was held without a reception on three targets — one of them an interception, the other a rough drop. The player most consistently open against the Seahawks was DeMario Douglas, who finished with five catches for 20 yards. Mack Hollins was a go-to-guy for Drake Maye on the final drive and actually finished the game with a team-high 51 receiving yards. He also was involved on the game-losing interception, failing to properly clean out space underneath for Hunter Henry. Kyle Williams was largely a non-factor even after Brown departed in the early second half. | Grade: C-

Tight end: It was a mixed bag for New England’s tight ends, only two of whom actually saw the field on offense. Hunter Henry caught all three of his passes for 26 combined yards, but also did not come off the line quickly enough on the final Drake Maye interception. Eli Raridon, meanwhile, caught the first touchdown of the season and threw a key block on Rhamondre Stevenson’s longest run of the day, a 12-yarder on the final drive. However, he also was responsible for two stuffed runs. | Grade: B

Offensive line: No statistic from Wednesday’s game might be as damning for the offensive line as this one: Rhamondre Stevenson and Corey Kiner combined to gain 62 yards on the ground, with 59 of those coming after contact. Frankly, the running game had almost no room to operate, and looked the part. To the line’s credit, though, it did show some improvement in pass protection since the Super Bowl. However, Drake Maye was still pressured on 38.1% of his dropbacks even though he ended up taking just three sacks. As for individual efforts, Alijah Vera-Tucker had a rough Patriots debut, while Jared Wilson — who hurt his hand in the early second half — also struggled with consistency. Will Campbell, meanwhile, looked good outside of two penalties. | Grade: C–

Defensive line: The Seahawks found some room to run early on and ended up with 97 yards on 22 carries, an average of 4.4 yards per attempt. Still, there were some solid moments both inside — such as Milton Williams’ 3rd-and-1 stuff in the fourth quarter — and on the edge. The latter was particularly encouraging after it was a major concern during joint practices with the Colts and Eagles. The pass rush from that part of the line was somewhat inconsistent outside of Dre’Mont Jones, with both of the group’s sacks of the clean-up variety. Inside, Christian Barmore gave Seattle’s interior line all it could handle even though his pressure total (4) does not quite reflect his impact. | Grade: B–

Linebacker: Robert Spillane and Christian Elliss were the only off-ball linebackers to play on the defensive side of the ball. They were unsurprisingly actively involved, registering a combined 12 tackles but also missing three takedown attempts. Spillane also struggled to run with quarterback Drew Lock on one outside scramble. All in all, they had an adequate debut but were unable to provide any impact plays from the second level. | Grade: C

Cornerback: Christian Gonzalez posted a shutout in 10 coverage matchups with Jaxon Smith-Njigba and looked every bit like the highest-paid cornerback in football he is. He did drop an interception and appeared a bit overeager on a run blitz on what ultimately ended as a 45-yard catch-and-run touchdown from the NFL Offensive Player of the Year, but overall looked like the shutdown cornerback is being paid to be. The other cornerbacks, meanwhile, performed at a high level as well. The only real blemish was Marcus Jones giving up a 24-yard catch to convert a third down before the Seahawks’ first field goal, but even that play was more due to Cooper Kupp’s concentration and ball skills rather than some bad coverage. | Grade: B+

Safety: Craig Woodson had one of the best games of his young career against the Seahawks in the Super Bowl, but was less effective in the rematch on Wednesday. He missed a pair of tackles, including when he came in too hot on Jaxon Smith-Njiba’s long touchdown, and would have given up a touchdown to Cooper Kupp if not for an unrelated offensive infraction. Kevin Byard was solid in his Patriots debut, while the heavily-involved Dell Pettus had an up-and-down day as well. | Grade: C–

Special teams: New England’s kicking game operation performed well. Andy Borregales made his lone field goal try from 50 yards out and split the uprights on an extra point. New punter Mitch Wishnowsky averaged 44.3 yards on four kicks, and pinned Seattle inside the 20 on three of them. Rashid Shaheed did have one 30-yard kickoff return but otherwise was held in check. Meanwhile, Kyle Williams averaged a solid 29.0 yards per kickoff return. Marcus Jones, on the other hand, was a non-factor in large part due to some excellent punting from Seattle’s Michael Dickson. | Grade: A-

How would you grade the Patriots’ performance against the Seahawks? Do you agree with our assessment? Please head down to the comment section to discuss with the rest of the community.