When New England and Seattle are penciled in on the NFL schedule, the games never disappoint. That was no different this week as the Patriots were narrowly defeated, 35-30, by the Seahawks in their Week 2 matchup on Sunday night.
Cam Newton threw for nearly 400 yards and ran for two touchdowns in the defeat, but the five-touchdown performance from quarterback Russell Wilson was just too much for the Patriots to overcome.
While fans will get down on the team for their inability to pull out a victory in the end, the players and coaches know that this was a valuable game.
Julian Edelman had one of the best statistical games of his career, recording eight receptions for a career-high 179 yards. And, while he’s not exactly thrilled with the result, the 34-year-old understands that there are things to take away from that game.
“We learned a lot tonight from these guys,” Edelman said. “When you’re down two scores with four minutes to go across the country against a really good football team and come back. We knew it was going to come down to the last play. We kept on saying that this whole week and it literally came to the last play. They got us, but we are proud of how we fought as a team.”
That is an important lesson for New England to learn. They now know that they have a team that will fight, scratch, and claw their way to stay competitive. When they are playing a team that has come out of the gate firing, the Patriots will punch back and gut it out until the final whistle.
That really encapsulates who Edelman is, but he’s not the only one who felt it. Devin McCourty, who took a tipped pass to the house on the first drive of the game, recognized what type of team the Patriots are.
“Sometimes games like this let you know you have a shot,” McCourty said. “We have a shot to be a really good football team.”
If the Patriots continue to play with this type of fight and tenacity, they will be able to battle through their tough schedule and compete to win their division. They’ll need all the grit they can muster up with difficult matchups on the horizon.
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