Opportunity fades
Last-second Gronk bid incomplete
FOXBORO — Though it was heavily billed as a Super Bowl rematch, the Patriots now more than ever hope last night was a Super Bowl LI preview.
The Seahawks seized a 31-24 victory last night at Gillette Stadium, exposing some of the Pats’ defensive issues while also taking advantage of some of the hosts’ offensive mistakes in the fourth quarter. The Patriots (7-2) are still tied with the Chiefs and Raiders for the best record in the AFC, but they’d cherish a second chance against the Seahawks in February.
“It’s one of those slugfest type of games,” Rob Ninkovich said. “Hopefully, we see them again.”
The Seahawks (6-2-1) clinched the win when Tom Brady’s fourthand-goal fade pass from the 1-yard line sailed incomplete past Rob Gronkowski, who was in a wrestling match with Kam Chancellor in the end zone, but the officials kept the flags in their pockets with 11 seconds on the clock.
“It didn’t get called,” said Gronk, who had three catches for 56 yards. “It is what it is. If it’s not (pass interference) to the refs, then it’s not PI to the refs. It’s what it is. It’s not going to change it.”
Brady completed his first five passes of the drive for 80 yards, including a 38-yarder to Gronkowski to set up first-and-goal from the 2. But the Seahawks stuffed two Brady sneaks and one LeGarrette Blount handoff before the fourthdown failure. Brady said the first sneak, with 43 seconds remaining, was designed to kill the clock more than cross the goal line. On the second, on third-and-goal, Brady said he went the wrong way after the snap from center David Andrews. The fourth-down incompletion drew the most ire from the Patriots, at least on the field if not off it.
“Sometimes you get the call, and sometimes you don’t. It looks like it came down to one play, but there are a lot of plays we could have done a better job on,” Brady said.
Brady was 23-of-32 for 316 yards, no touchdowns and one interception in his first loss of the season, but Blount paced the offense with 21 carries for 69 yards and three touchdowns. Martellus Bennett had seven catches for 102 yards, and Julian Edelman hauled in seven passes for 99 yards, but he lost a key fumble in the fourth quarter.
The Pats got sloppy after the Seahawks settled for their fourth red-zone field goal of the game, a 23-yarder from Steven Hauschka that gave them a 25-24 advantage on the game’s seventh lead change with 8:56 to play. Cyrus Jones fumbled the ensuing kickoff, but Nate Ebner saved the day with a recovery at the Seahawks 43-yard line. Brady then overthrew Chris Hogan on a deep ball that was nearly intercepted. And Edelman added the third strike when Chancellor and K.J. Wright forced his fumble, which was recovered by Richard Sherman and returned to the Pats 48-yard line.
“It’s definitely a problem,” Bill Belichick said. “Our ball security is not where it needs to be. We addressed it. We need to address it more. We need to improve it. We can’t keep turning it over.”
The Seahawks got two of their six third-down conversions (12 tries) on the next series, including Doug Baldwin’s touchdown against Logan Ryan for a 3124 advantage. Their two-point conversion attempt failed when Wilson couldn’t find Baldwin, who had six catches for 59 yards and three scores.
The Patriots allowed a seasonhigh 31 points, and the 420 yards were the second-most they’ve given up this season (Dolphins). Wilson was 25-of-37 for 348 yards and the three touchdowns.
“We’ve got to do more to help the offense,” Devin McCourty said. “They’re moving the ball. They’re putting points on the board. We’ve got to hold up a couple times. We played better in the red area, but a couple stops would have helped us.”
Blount’s 1-yard plunge gave the Pats a 7-0 lead on the first possession of the game, but the Seahawks strung together two field goal drives and cracked the end zone when Baldwin ran a nifty route in front of Malcolm Butler for a 6-yard touchdown catch that made it 12-7 in the second quarter. Shea McClellin blocked the extra point.
Brady then heaved the Pats’ first interception of the season. Bennett was open in the right flat, but Brady scrambled around the pocket before lofting a deep ball to Malcolm Mitchell in double coverage that was picked by DeShawn Shead. But Ninkovich’s first sack of the season forced the Seahawks’ lone punt of the first half (two in the game).
Gronk was briefly sidelined due to the concussion protocol because of a hit from Earl Thomas on the next series, so Brady hit Bennett twice for 30 yards before Blount’s 1-yard touchdown gave the Pats a 14-12 lead with 1:05 to play in the half.
Wilson then stormed down the field and took advantage of some broken zone coverages, including when Baldwin got behind Patrick Chung for an 18-yard touchdown and 19-14 lead with 6 seconds to go in the half.
The Pats retook the lead on their first second-half drive when Blount scored from 13 yards out. But Hauschka responded with a 41-yard field goal to make it 22-21 in the third quarter, and Gostkowski’s 30-yarder made it 24-22 with 13:05 to play in the fourth before the Seahawks took over for good.
“We can’t let this game affect us as we continue to move through the season here,” Ninkovich said. “We’ll watch the tape. We’ll get better. We’ll improve. We’ve still got a long way to go.”