Three Studs, Three Duds From Patriots’ OT Loss To Seahawks

FOXBORO, Mass. — The Patriots were unable to remain undefeated Sunday, suffering a narrow loss to the Seattle Seahawks in their opener at Gillette Stadium.

New England didn’t necessarily come crashing down to earth in the loss, but an inability to stay ahead of the chains eventually caught up with the offense. Ja’Whaun Bentley’s departure — and one very ugly coverage bust — caused problems defensively, and ultimately put Jerod Mayo’s squad in a hole.

Who did do their job? Who helped contribute to the loss? Let’s take a look:

STUDS

Hunter Henry
Henry finished with 109 receiving yards Sunday, setting a new personal best in his ninth season in the NFL. Who saw that coming?

Henry was the favorite target of the next man on our list, continuously finding soft spots to bail New England out on broken plays. Henry had five catches in the first quarter — all of which went for first downs — and eight altogether. The Patriots promised to involve the tight ends coming into the season, and we’re starting to see that pay dividends.

Jacoby Brissett
Brissett’s pocket movement is a breath of fresh air after watching Mac Jones cower in fear when he saw his own shadow for three seasons. We didn’t give the 31-year-old enough credit for his ability to play out of structure coming into the year, and though it has only been a couple weeks, the composure is impressive.

New England’s decision to stick with him early in the year looks like a smart one, especially with how ugly the offensive line looks at times. Brissett was sacked thrice Sunday, but that number easily could have been tripled.

Kyle Dugger
Dugger was the best defensive player on the field in this one, finishing with nine tackles, three tackles for a loss and one sack. The Patriots relied on him to play an in-the-box role once Bentley went down with a shoulder injury, and he responded accordingly with a sack at the end of the first half and a run stuff to begin the second half and turn the ball over.

DUDS

Marco Wilson
The Patriots continued to rely on Wilson as their top depth option in the defensive backfield, and it led to trouble in the second quarter. Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith targeted the 25-year-old on two consecutive plays, the second of which led to a chunk penalty that set Seattle up for a one-yard touchdown.

Jonathan Jones re-entered the lineup on the following drive and remained as the top option opposite Christian Gonzalez.

Alex Van Pelt
Van Pelt had an incredibly uneven game, throwing in a few interesting wrinkles to an otherwise uninspiring plan. The Patriots had two drives reach the red zone in which they stalled out and were forced to kick a field goal, both of which saw AVP choose to run the ball on second-and-long.

New England did not get the win and it’s tough to find impactful names that were truly dreadful. Van Pelt could have made his day much easier with a couple different ideas.

Marcus Jones
Jones was a “stud” last week, but life comes at you fast in the NFL. Jones was primarily responsible for Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who finished with 12 receptions for 117 yards. It’s a week-to-week list, folks.