By Gus "Walk-Off" Fields
The banner still hung, the champions still won — but Seattle's 13-10 season-opening victory over New England on Wednesday night felt more like a gut check than a coronation.
The Seahawks, defending champions in a Super Bowl LX rematch, leaned on their defense to hold off the Patriots, according to ESPN. But the price was steep: quarterback Sam Darnold left the game after suffering a hip injury on the opening drive and was ruled out for the rest of the night. ESPN reported Darnold was set for an MRI, though early word inside the building was described as "great news" on the severity.
On the other sideline, rookie-era growing pains were on full display. Patriots quarterback Drake Maye threw three interceptions and did not mince words afterward. "Unacceptable," he called his own performance, per ESPN, adding that he "lost patience and it cost us." It's the kind of blunt self-scouting that either sinks a young quarterback's confidence or becomes the moment he points back to later — nobody knows yet which.
New England's night got worse in the third quarter when wide receiver A.J. Brown, playing his Patriots debut, hobbled off with a right ankle injury and did not return, ESPN reported.
For a Seattle team that hung a championship banner, an ugly three-point win with a quarterback in street clothes for the MRI room isn't the story anyone drew up. But defending champions rarely get style points in Week 1 — they just need the number in the right column. The Seahawks got it. Now they wait to see what it cost them.
— Compiled from reporting by BBC Sport and ESPN.
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