Patriots’ First Loss Displayed Problem With Offensive Approach

FOXBORO, Mass. — Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo issued a challenge to opponents following his club’s season-opening win against the Cincinnati Bengals.

“We’re going to run the ball all year,” Mayo said. “I don’t want to talk about it anymore. Listen so I never have to answer this again. We will always, always offensively be a run-first team, and you gotta stop it.”

Would you like to guess what happened next?

The Seattle Seahawks walked into Gillette Stadium on Sunday and (eventually) did exactly what they were challenged to do, leaving with an overtime victory after making a few key stops.

So, what happened?

The Patriots had an opportunity to play out the same script they did against the Bengals, possessing the ball with just under six minutes and a chance to put the game on ice. Rhamondre Stevenson was called upon once again to finish the job, but the outcome was quite different this time around.

Seattle got two early-down stops on Stevenson, which forced New England into a passing situation. Jacoby Brissett was then sacked on third down, which led to a 49-yard attempt from Joey Slye that was eventually blocked — handing possession back to the Seahawks, who tied the game after regulation.

“It’s in those critical situations we’ve got to find a way to — I think that was the moment in the game where it’s like, now we’ve got to put them away,” Patriots quarterback Jacoby Brissett said postgame. “They gave us the light and we just didn’t take it this time, and we’ve just got to find a better way to capitalize on those, especially when we get down there this late in the game versus a really good team. They don’t give you that many opportunities, so you’ve got to take advantage of those.”

The Seahawks had given up nearly 200 rushing yards to that point, so what was the difference? They knew what was coming.

The Patriots’ one-dimensional offense came back to bite them, as they needed to execute under tight circumstances and just couldn’t get the job done. New England isn’t much of a threat to throw the ball, so making stops in obvious running situations is a surefire way to give yourself an advantage. Seattle did that Sunday, providing a blueprint for opposing defenses moving forward.

It’s time for Mayo’s squad to adjust.