Maye steps back, Seattle's D shines: What we learned from NFL opener

The NFL's season opener between the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots on Wednesday was a stinker for most of the game. Sam Darnold and A.J. Brown exited early with injuries, and neither team could establish much offensive rhythm.

Then the Seahawks scored 13 unanswered points in the second half to take the lead with less than six minutes left. New England's last-ditch effort to steal a win, or at the very least force overtime, ended when Drake Maye threw his third interception of the evening.

Should the Patriots panic about Maye's rough start? Can the Seahawks stay afloat if Darnold is out for an extended period? Here are three takeaways from Seattle's 13-10 victory.

Don't sell your Drake Maye stock just yet

It was a brutal night for last season's MVP runner-up as he recorded the first three-interception game of his career. Each pick was worse and more indefensible than the last. The back-breaker for the Patriots was an ill-advised pass that Maye lofted into the arms of Seahawks cornerback Josh Jobe with less than 30 seconds remaining in the game.

The performance looked awfully familiar. Seven months ago, Seattle's defense intercepted Maye twice and sacked him six times in Super Bowl LX. Do these performances mark the start of a downward slide and a full-blown regression?

Wednesday provided plenty of reasons for concern. Maye threw the ball more than 20 yards downfield just four times; three of those passes were intercepted, and the fourth was incomplete. Last year, Maye was one of the NFL's best deep-ball throwers, connecting on 41 passes that went more than 20 yards downfield - second only to Matthew Stafford.

And unlike in the Super Bowl, Maye wasn't dealing with that much pressure. The Seahawks were credited with pressuring Maye on 12 of his dropbacks Wednesday, resulting in three sacks, four scrambles, and five incomplete passes. The Seahawks pressured Maye on 23 dropbacks in the Super Bowl. Although that resulted in six sacks, he still managed to complete six passes under pressure, including a touchdown toss to Rhamondre Stevenson.

Now, the good news: It may be years before Maye has to play the Seahawks again. Seattle's defense is capable of ruining any quarterback's day, and Maye had the misfortune of running into that unit on the national stage twice in a row.

It's worth pointing out, too, that Maye got very little help from his supporting cast. Running backs Stevenson and Corey Kiner combined for a paltry 2.6 yards per rush, and $68-million free-agent addition Romeo Doubs finished with zero receptions and an egregious drop that immediately preceded Maye's second interception.

While Brown's high ankle sprain won't make those issues easier to overcome, most defenses won't present the same challenges as Seattle. With softer matchups on the horizon for the Patriots, Maye should be able to shake off his Week 1 missteps and get back on track.

The defense is too scary for Darnold injury to ruin Seattle's year

Seattle lost a few key pieces on defense in free agency, including cornerback Riq Woolen, linebacker Boye Mafe, and safety Coby Bryant. The Seahawks were also without second-year safety Nick Emmanwori as he continues to work his way back from ankle surgery.

None of those absences seemed to matter much.

The Seahawks still looked like a nightmare for opposing offenses. With safety Julian Love patrolling the middle of the field and linebacker Uchenna Nwosu hitting everything that moved, the Patriots were flummoxed most of the night. Maybe most encouraging for Seattle was the surprisingly stellar play of third-year corner Nehemiah Pritchett, a former fifth-round pick who played sparingly in his first two seasons but stepped up and recorded his first career interception.

Regardless of whether Darnold is back next week or forced to miss some time and give way to Drew Lock, the Seahawks should be just fine thanks to their defense.

Good start for new Seahawks OC Brian Fleury

A handful of snaps into his first season as an NFL offensive coordinator, Fleury lost his starting quarterback for the night and possibly longer. And although 13 points is far from a satisfactory total, the Seahawks have reason to be optimistic about the offense after losing Klint Kubiak to the coaching carousel.

With a backup quarterback forced into action against a Patriots defense that's stingy in its own right, Seattle put together three scoring drives in the second half with 136 net passing yards after halftime. The Seahawks scored their only touchdown of the game on a fourth-down play that stretched New England to the sideline and cleared room for Jaxon Smith-Njigba to race 45 yards through the middle of the defense.

Fleury and Lock weren't the only ones who proved to be viable replacements. Rookie running back Jadarian Price plowed his way to an unspectacular but efficient 52 yards on 10 carries. That was more than enough to offer hope that the departure of Kenneth Walker III won't derail Seattle's attack.

The Seahawks' defense will give opponents fits, but the offense looks ready to hold up its end of the bargain.

Adam Stites is a contributing writer for theScore.