Josh Jobe intercepted Patriots quarterback Drake Maye in the end zone with 21 seconds remaining as the Seahawks beat New England 13-10 in a Super Bowl rematch Wednesday night in Seattle.
Seattle picked off Maye on New England’s final three possessions to overcome a 10-0 deficit and the early exit of starting quarterback Sam Darnold.
Well within the field-goal range of Andy Borregales, who connected on a 50-yarder earlier in the game, the Patriots went for the win in the final minute rather than taking the game to overtime. New England converted on fourth down twice on the final drive. Maye hit wide receiver Mack Hollins for 11 yards on fourth-and-9 on the first play after the two-minute warning to move the chains, after the QB ran for 5 yards on fourth-and-2 earlier in the possession.
His third-and-5 toss was underthrown, and Jobe was in front of Hollins one step into the end zone.
Backup quarterback Drew Lock helped save the day for Seattle. He completed 16 of 22 passes for 187 yards and a touchdown. Jaxon Smith-Njigba caught eight passes for 122 yards and a touchdown.
The Seahawks turned the tide in the fourth quarter with three interceptions and three sacks of Maye, who was rarely pressured in the first half. His first gamble of the game early in the fourth quarter was a deep pass intended for Romeo Doubs that was tipped in the air and intercepted by Seahawks cornerback Nehemiah Pritchett.
Seattle turned the first takeaway of the game into points when Lock hooked up with Smith-Njigba on a short fourth-down completion. A play-fake froze the Patriots’ defense, and Lock fired to Smith-Njigba for a short gain, and the receiver turned upfield to open turf to do the rest for a game-tying 45-yard touchdown with 11:28 to play.
On the ensuing possession, Maye tried to go deep over the middle, but safety Julian Love leapt in front of wide receiver DeMario Douglas for another pick. The play came after Doubs dropped a pass for what would have been a clear first down on a crossing route.
The Seahawks drove inside the New England 5, but two incompletions and a delay-of-game penalty led to Seattle settling for a chip-shot field goal from Jason Myers with just under six minutes left in the game.
The Patriots lost wide receiver A.J. Brown to a right ankle injury early on their first drive in the third quarter.
Five plays into their title defense, Seattle had its script shredded. Darnold left the game with a hip injury after being dragged down for a sack by Dre’Mont Jones and didn’t return.
Seahawks first-time play-caller Brian Fleury was caught in the whirlwind with Lock, who played 38 total snaps last season, pushed into the primetime spotlight. Fleury was hired after Seattle offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak left to become head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders.
With the Seahawks trailing 10-0 and 5:30 left in the third quarter, Lock floated a pass down the right sideline to Cooper Kupp for the longest gain of the game to that point, a 24-yarder. Kupp adjusted to the underthrown pass and hauled it in with his right arm. Three plays later, Lock zipped a quick slant pass to his left and found Kupp for an apparent 7-yard TD, but it was negated by an illegal shift.
The Seahawks settled for a 30-yard field goal by Myers and trailed 10-3 with 3:13 left in the third quarter.
Maye finished 23 of 33 for 178 yards, one touchdown and the three picks.