Seahawks 13, Patriots 10: Jobe's Toe-Tap Seals a Banner Night

September 9, 2026 - Seattle - The Super Bowl banner went up. Five plays later, Sam Darnold was in the medical tent.

Dre'Mont Jones dragged him down on third down. Darnold limped to the sideline, then to the locker room. Drew Lock, who threw three passes all of last season, inherited the NFL's kickoff game. The Seattle Seahawks still beat the New England Patriots 13-10, because the fourth quarter belonged to the Dark Side and because Josh Jobe got both feet down in the end zone with 21 seconds left.

Paid attendance was 68,744. The night lasted 3 hours, 2 minutes. It felt longer.

Five plays, then the tent

This was the third Super Bowl rematch to open a season. Denver over Carolina in 2016 was the last one. Seattle raised the banner, rolled the highlights, then watched its starter disappear.

Darnold finished 1 of 2 for 13 yards. One sack, five yards lost. AthX Engine has him at 1.04 fantasy points on the week. That is not a projection. That is a hip.

Lock went 16 of 22 for 187 yards and a touchdown. He ran twice for 13. He did not throw an interception. For three quarters he looked like a backup who had not been asked to save a title defense. In the fourth, he did just enough.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba caught eight balls for 122 yards. The last of the loud ones covered 45 yards on fourth-and-1. Cooper Kupp had two catches for 35, including a one-handed 24-yarder that finally moved the sticks in the third. Jadarian Price led the rush with 10 carries for 52. George Holani added eight for 29. Seattle finished with 285 yards and 13 first downs. New England had 277 yards, 19 first downs, and 34:17 of possession. The Patriots still lost.

Mike Macdonald did not panic, or at least he said he didn't. "We still liked our plan," he told reporters. "We didn't need to change what we were doing."

10-0, and a banner waiting

New England's only first-half score started with a flag. Jobe interfered with A.J. Brown on a flea-flicker. On the next snap, Drake Maye found rookie tight end Eli Raridon from two yards. Andy Borregales kicked it through. 7-0, 9:11 left in the second.

The second Patriots score was another penalty gift. Chazz Surratt roughed the punter to open the second half. Borregales hit from 50. 10-0. Brown left later in the third with a right ankle injury and did not return. His Patriots debut: three catches, 26 yards, then the tent of his own.

Seattle's answer before the fourth was a 30-yard field goal from Jason Myers. Lock had floated that 24-yarder to Kupp. Three plays later he hit Kupp on a slant that looked like a 7-yard touchdown until illegal shift wiped it out. The Seahawks settled. 10-3, 3:13 left in the third. They had been held without a touchdown through 45 minutes on a night they had planned as a party.

Rhamondre Stevenson carried 18 times for 51 yards and caught five more for 44. Maye added 47 rushing yards on seven carries. The Patriots were 5 of 16 on third down and 2 of 2 on fourth. They were also 1 of 2 in the red zone. Seattle was 0 of 2. This was not an offensive masterpiece. It was a game waiting for someone to give it away.

Three picks, one toe-tap

Maye's first gamble of the fourth was a deep ball for Romeo Doubs. It got tipped. Nehemiah Pritchett intercepted it and returned it 30 yards. Seattle started at its 33.

Five plays later, fourth-and-1 from the New England 45. Play-fake. Lock threw short. Smith-Njigba turned upfield into open grass. 45 yards. Myers extra point. 10-10, 11:28 left. Smith-Njigba said afterward they knew it would be a four-quarter game. "We're going to keep fighting until the clock hits triple zero."

Maye tried the middle on the next drive. Doubs had already dropped a crossing route that would have been a first down. Julian Love leapt in front of DeMario Douglas and came down with pick number two. Seattle drove inside the 5, took a delay of game, and missed twice. Myers from 26. 13-10, 5:50 left.

New England still had a shot. Borregales had already made 50. Mike Vrabel's club converted fourth-and-2 (Maye for 5) and fourth-and-9 (Maye to Mack Hollins for 11 after the two-minute warning). They went for the win instead of overtime. On third-and-5, Maye underthrew Hollins. Jobe was a step into the end zone, toes dragging, 21 seconds on the clock.

"I was trying to get rid of it, and I realized Mack was back there in the back and I didn't put enough on it to get it out," Maye said. "It was unacceptable."

Maye finished 23 of 33 for 178 yards, one touchdown, three interceptions. Rating: 54.9. Lock's rating: 113.3. Ernest Jones led all tacklers with 13. Love, Jobe, and Pritchett had the three takeaways. Leonard Williams, Derick Hall, and Drake Thomas got to Maye in a second half where the pressure finally showed. Nick Emmanwori (ankle) was inactive for Seattle before kickoff.

Lock, asked about the night: "It was a blast. I can't say enough about the defense turning over the ball."

AthX Engine on a defensive night

AthX Engine NFL scoring already has the Week 1 lines in. Love's interception, pass breakup, and tackles land at 52.00 fantasy points. Jobe's toe-tap and coverage day land at 51.00. Smith-Njigba's eight catches, 122 yards, and the 45-yard score are 40.50, the top skill-player total on the card. Jones is 38.00. Leonard Williams is 37.00. Maye's rushing helped him to 25.99 even with the three picks. Myers' two field goals (30 and 26) and the extra point are 16.00. Darnold's 1.04 is the injury.

Drew Lock is not on the ingested Week 1 player board yet. The box still maps: 187 passing yards, a passing touchdown, 13 rushing yards, no interceptions. Fantasy points measure the box. Price is what traders will pay for Darnold's hip, Maye's three giveaways, and Jobe's hands. They move together. They are not the same number.

Track Darnold, Maye, Smith-Njigba, Jobe, and both clubs on the marketplace. New England hosts Pittsburgh on Sept. 20. Seattle visits Arizona the same day.

*Sources: AP recap (CBS), Reuters, ESPN, NFL.com game center, NFL gamebook. AthX Engine Week 1 lines queried from live scoring. Information only; not financial advice.*