SEAHAWKS SURVIVE DARNOLD SCARE, DRAKE MAYE MELTDOWN: SEAHAWK’S EDGE PATRIOTS IN SUPER BOWL REMATCH
WELL, WELL, WELL — LOOKS LIKE THE PATRIOTS FORGOT TO PACK THEIR FOURTH-QUARTER CLUTCH GENE FOR THE SEASON OPENER!
Seattle’s home opener, well they pulled it off thanks to Drake Maye, because of his last couple minute interception thrown in Seattle’s end zone with a last-second field goal victory, Seattle over New England, and let me tell you something: if you’re a Seahawks fan, you’re celebrating like you won the Super Bowl all over again. If you’re a Patriots fan, you’re punching your couch cushions wondering how Drake Maye just threw the season opener into the TRASH CAN with three fourth-quarter picks!
This was the rematch everyone wanted after last year’s Super Bowl, and it delivered — sort of. Not a blowout, but a solid fight. The kind of game where neutrals got their money’s worth and fans of both teams probably need blood pressure medication.
But let’s address the ELEPHANT IN THE LOCKER ROOM:
Sam Darnold went down in the first quarter with a hip injury, and every single person in Seattle just felt their stomach drop. Early tests look “not too bad” — WHATEVER THAT MEANS — but they’re still waiting on further results. Listen, when you’re the reigning champs and your QB who just threw for 4,048 yards, 25 touchdowns, and completed 67.7 percent of his passes last season goes down, “not too bad” doesn’t exactly inspire confidence!
Enter Drew Lock, the ex-Bronco backup who’s now Seattle’s insurance policy.
And folks, he looked EXACTLY like what he is — a guy who’s 10-18 as a starter in his career with a 34-28 TD-to-INT ratio. Rusty? You could practically see the cobwebs flying off him in the first half. But credit where it’s due: Lock settled down as the game went on. He’s experienced, he’s been in 28 starts, and when it mattered, he didn’t lose the game.
The Patriots struck first, but Seattle clawed back to tie it in the fourth quarter. That’s when Drake Maye decided to audition for the “How to Lose a Season Opener” tutorial video. THREE INTERCEPTIONS IN THE FOURTH QUARTER! Bad choices, bad throws, bad EVERYTHING. You’re up against the defending champs in a Super Bowl rematch and you’re out there throwing picks like you’re distributing promotional flyers!
Seattle gets the ball back after Maye’s third gift-wrapped turnover, marches into field goal range, and BOOM — they drill it with seconds left. Game over. Season opener: Seahawks. Revenge tour: POSTPONED INDEFINITELY.
Now, if you’re keeping score at home, Seattle’s got to pray those further tests on Darnold come back clean. Any extended absence is a MAJOR concern for a team trying to defend their title. Lock can manage a game, but managing and WINNING are two different things when you’re 10-18 as a starter.
As for New England? Drake Maye better learn FAST that you can’t throw three picks in the fourth and expect to beat championship-caliber teams.
WHAT’S NEXT: Tonight, September 10th, we’re heading DOWN UNDER to Melbourne, Australia for 49ers-Rams at 8:35 PM EST on Netflix! That’s right, NETFLIX! The Balz family legacy is officially global, baby! San Francisco versus LA in the land of Vegemite and kangaroos — let’s see if the Niners can punch the Rams in the mouth or if LA’s got some tricks up their sleeve!
STAY LOUD, STAY BALZY!
— Jim Balz, All-In Sports Reporter, Sports By The Balz
