New England Patriots are worth believing in despite loss to Seahawks

The Sunday Night Football matchup between the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks exceeded expectations in a big way.

I said we would learn a lot about this New England Patriots team prior to their Sunday Night Football game against the Seattle Seahawks. I can now confidently say that the 2020 Patriots are worth believing in, despite the fact that they lost.

The Patriots did not quit despite how bleak things looked. They were down 35-23 with under five minutes remaining, but they roared back and would have the opportunity to take the win with a final play at the goal line with three seconds left. Unfortunately, Cam Newton got stuffed on a designed quarterback run.

The most surprising thing about the game is that Newton had 397 passing yards. We knew Cam Newton was going to need to throw the ball more in this matchup, but who could have seen that coming?

Julian Edelman was the main beneficiary of that, with eight receptions for a career high 179 yards. Edelman made multiple catches deep down the field, which is definitely not something that has occurred very often in the past.

N’Keal Harry also had a very encouraging performance. He had a quiet game compared to Edelman, but he finished with eight receptions for 72 yards and made big grabs when Cam looked his way on the final drive. Harry’s most impressive play came early on, as he took a huge shot over the middle by Seahawks safety Quandre Diggs but held on to the ball.

https://twitter.com/PFF/status/1307845282504335368

Harry seems to have earned Cam’s trust, and that is absolutely huge. This was by far the best game of his young career.

The New England Patriots defense… wasn’t very good, but there’s no real shame in getting beaten by Russell Wilson. Wilson is an elite quarterback, perhaps the best in the game, and was making throws that were plain unreal.

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I mean… Stephon Gilmore definitely got beat here, but he is still able to get an arm in there and it doesn’t even matter. The throw is perfect, combined with strong hands by DK Metcalf. It was one of many plays made by Wilson where all you can do is shake your head and tip your cap. It was impressive that the New England Patriots were able to stop Seattle with under two minutes remaining to get the ball back with a chance to win it.

Russell Wilson is going to make just about every team he faces look foolish, but obviously the defense needs to be better overall. They should have more successful showings than what they displayed tonight. When you pair that with an offense that looks far improved compared to 2019, you have a team that is going to make some noise.

While it sucks that the New England Patriots lost, this was a statement game. This team isn’t going anywhere and they are going to be right in the thick of things in the AFC playoff race. Get on the train before it leaves the station.