Geno Smith (33/44, 327 yards, 1 TD) deserves his victory. After the Patriots failed on their first possession in overtime on a defended 3rd & 1, the Seahawks quarterback showed his composure to lead his team to the winning field goal by Jason Myers on 31 yards (23-20).
Before that, the thrower had been solid while he was neither helped by his ground game (38 yards on 14 carries) nor by his receivers. The latter having dropped many balls including a crucial one at the end of the game in opposing territory. Opposite, Jacoby Brissett (15/27, 149 yards) had a good performance, well supported by Antonio Gibson (11 carries 96 yards) but he lacked talent in attack for the Patriots, whose receivers only accumulated… 19 yards to win the game.
The Hunter Henry Festival
It was expected to be a battle between hard-working teams, centered on iron defenses and solid running games. And that's what we got, for the space of the first two drives, concluded after 3 actions on each side. Then, there was an avalanche of points until the break with both teams carried by quarterbacks in form. Geno Smith was impressively precise while Jacoby Brissett navigated the pocket very well to avoid opposing blitzes, well helped by an omnipresent Hunter Henry (8 receptions, 109 yards) in the first half.
In this game, it was the Seahawks who came out on top with two touchdowns, one on a coverage error exploited by DK Metcalf (10 receptions, 129 yards, 1 TD) on 56 yards (7-7), the other on a long drive concluded by Zach Charbonnet from close range (10-14). Opposite, the Patriots opened the score on a controlled series before lacking sharpness on two incursions into the red zone, handicapped by receivers who were nowhere to be found. At halftime, the Seahawks took a small margin thanks to a last field goal (17-13).
Patriots miss the boat, Seahawks take advantage
The second half was more in line with pre-match expectations. The game closed, and the Patriots' lines took matters into their own hands. On offense, Jerod Mayo's men took over to open up space for their runners. Antonio Gibson rushed in to push his team forward, although it was Rhamondre Stevenson who finished to take the lead early in the fourth quarter (20-17) after a long drive of over 6 minutes.
Well helped by the drops of the Seahawks receivers, the Patriots defense extinguished the visitors' attack by eliminating any danger on the ground, limiting Seattle to 106 small yards in the second period with in particular two fourth attempts rejected. The locals then seemed to have the game in hand, before stalling in the final stretch, with a blocked field goal at 20-17.
Geno Smith took advantage of this to revive his team, and to enter the redzone, less than two minutes from the end of the match, only to see the 3&1 being defended by the Patriots. Between their last possession and the first of overtime, the New England players had two opportunities to conclude, but they did not succeed, failing on a 3&1 in overtime. Seattle took advantage of the opportunity, and converted on a drive where Jaxon Smith-Njigba (12 receptions, 117 yards). They are 2-0, but all is not gloomy at New England who put in a coherent overall performance, despite a poorly negotiated end to the match.
WIDE OPEN @dkm14 🤯 pic.twitter.com/rHIeaVSkOL
— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) September 15, 2024
