FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Coach Jerod Mayo and quarterback Jacoby Brissett believe the New England Patriots were only a few plays away from a 2-0 start to the season not many expected from them.
After opening with a 16-10 win at Cincinnati, the Patriots fell to the Seattle Seahawks 23-20 in overtime on Sunday.
“You put yourself in position hopefully to make a couple more plays here and there throughout the game,” said Brissett, who was 15 of 27 for 149 yards.
“I know we’re going to go back and watch this film and it’s going to be a play here, a play there, starting with myself. It’s going to be good for us to go back and watch this film and learn from it.”
When the Patriots review the film, they’ll see the three-and-out that brought a swift end to their lone offensive possession of the extra session.
In game where Antonio Gibson and Rhamondre Stevenson combine for 177 rushing yards, the Patriots were stopped for no gain on a third-and-1 in OT.
“We had a play and just obviously didn’t get it done right,” Patriots center David Andrews said. “There are multiple plays and moments throughout the game where you look at them and say ‘Man, I wish had that one back.’ You do that even after a win, but it’s more glaring after a loss. You never know when the crucial moments are and that was one of them. Obviously, after a loss, there will seem like there are a lot more so we will have to correct it and move forward.”
The Patriots will also look at the botched coverage in the secondary that enabled Seattle wide receiver DK Metcalf to go into the end zone untouched for a 56-yard touchdown that tied the game at 7-7 in the first quarter.
“That’s on us. At times we want to be aggressive, and they called a good play, and they hit it down the sideline,” Mayo said.
Perhaps the play that will stick out the most on film is the block that Seattle’s Julian Love had on a field-goal try that would have given New England a six-point lead with under four minutes remaining. The Seahawks took advantage by driving down the field for a game-tying field goal with less than a minute left in regulation.
“It’s all about the details. If we get the little things right, the big things will take care of themselves. We just didn’t take care of the little things, and we weren’t as detailed or on top of our Ps and Qs like we should have been,” Mayo said.
Brissett was sacked three times with one of them happening right before the blocked field goal.
“It was just a bad play by me. I was trying to get the ball out and I just didn’t want to be careless with the ball and somebody strip-sack me from behind because I felt somebody coming from behind. Was trying to get the ball out. It was just a bad play by me,” Brissett said.
There were two crucial pass interference calls that went against the Patriots that resulted in points for the Seahawks. A flag on Marco Wilson in the end zone helped Seattle score a 1-yard rushing touchdown that led to a 14-10 lead in the second quarter. In overtime, veteran Jonathan Jones was penalized on a pass play that helped Seattle cross midfield as part of the game-ending drive.
“Without getting fined, I would like someone from the NFL’s officiating office show where the penalty was,” Jones said. “Even the receiver (Seattle’s Tyler Lockett) said that wasn’t a penalty. It (stinks) because that felt like it was the play of the game.”
Geno Smith’s touchdown to Metcalf was part of a tough game for New England’s secondary, as Smith passed for 327 yards. Outside of tight end Hunter Henry, who finished with a career-high 109 yards, the Patriots struggled moving the ball down the field through the air.
Now, it’s about moving on quickly with the next game on Thursday night on the road against Aaron Rodgers and the AFC East rival New York Jets.
“This is a tough football team. No matter what’s said outside this building, and I told these guys that, as well. We’re a tough football game, not only physically but mentally. I appreciate their effort. It just wasn’t enough today,” Mayo said.
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