Grading the Patriots Defense in the Opener at Seattle

Mandatory Credit&colon; Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images

Grading the Patriots Defense in the Opener at Seattle

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Hector Longo | Last updated Sep 10, 2026 3:55 PM ET

They gave up 13 points on the road, against the defending Super Bowl champions.

Normally, a defense would be exalted for that kind of performance.

But New England Patriots Mike Vrabel said it best postgame. Considering his team faced a second-string journeyman quarterback in Drew Locke, there just wasn’t enough impact or for that matter, any game-turning plays by his defense.

The one brave “stand” only came about because the Seahawks took an ill-advised delay of game penalty.

“We didn’t win the football game in the second half. That’s really when you have to win these games in this league, is finding a way to make some plays in the second half in critical situations. We didn’t do that,” said Vrabel. “We can’t turn the ball over and we have to create more turnovers. Again, it’s a broken record.”

With that said, let’s assess the various Patriots defensive groups and their performances against the Seahawks.

Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11).Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

Interior line: Very mixed reviews

The Seattle front owned the Patriots much of the night. Rookie Jadarian Price averaged 5.2 yards a carry. You can ask coach Mike Macdonald why he only ran 10 times.

Advanced stats say Christian Barmore applied ample pressure. He made one tackle. Milton Williams drew plenty of attention.

Edge: Good to see you, Gabe

Rookie Gabe Jacas played 19 snaps and had a (coverage) sack. He also had a tackle for loss when Seattle ran right at him and chose to not block him. Dre’Mont Jones KO’d Sam Darnold with a first-series sack and had four QB hits. Elijah Ponder didn’t do much in his 39 snaps.

Linebackers: High energy

Robert Spillane is healthy again, and he roamed sideline-to-sideline per usual, rolling up seven tackles. Not a ton from Christian Ellis, who played 98 percent of the snaps.

Defensive backs: One giant mistake

Second-year safety Craig Woodson picked the wrong moment to be a step late on a coverage. On fourth-and-1, a Patriots blitz call put Woodson one-on-one with Jaxon Smith-Njigba, and the reigning NFL Offensive Player of the Year exploited the kid, and then ran away from everyone else to tie things at 10-10.

It was a dreadful whiff, but you could also question why it would be Woodson on the coverage there.

The rest of the night, the secondary did its job. Christian Gonzalez was his usual self. No major penalties and a solid enough effort all-around, outside of the TD.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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