Maine news, sports, weather from Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram, Portland, Maine

October 15, 2012

Patriots rue squandering ways

New England racks up 475 yards on offense, but scores just one touchdown in six tries inside the Seattle 20 yard line.

The Associated Press

SEATTLE - Tom Brady picked apart the best defense in the NFL except when it mattered most.

Too many squandered chances and missed scoring opportunities left the New England Patriots blaming themselves after watching Seattle pull off a stunning rally.

"This was a tough one. As ugly as the game was, as ugly as we played, we still had plenty of opportunities to win this game," New England receiver Deion Branch said.

Russell Wilson found Sidney Rice behind the secondary for a 46-yard touchdown with 1:18 remaining, and the Seahawks rallied for 14 points in the final 7:31 to stun the Patriots 24-23 Sunday.

The matchup between the Patriots' No. 1 ranked offense and Seattle's No. 1 defense instead turned into a starring performance for Wilson, and a shocking rally that gave Pete Carroll a win in the first matchup against the franchise he coached for three seasons in the late 1990s. Carroll was bouncing around the sideline in celebration after one of his biggest pro victories.

Meanwhile, the Patriots were left to lament rolling up 475 yards of offense against the Seahawks, yet scoring just one touchdown on six trips inside the Seattle 20 in their second loss to an NFC West opponent this season.

"We had quite a few yards, you know, moved the ball up and down the field at times," Brady said. "Like I said, we really squandered some scoring opportunities and that was what the game came down to. You come down to a one-point game and opportunity in the red area for a touchdown, we had a few other opportunities to put points on the board and we just didn't do it."

New England welcomed back Aaron Hernandez after he missed the previous two-plus games with an ankle injury suffered in Week 2. Wes Welker was nearly impossible for Seattle to cover working out of the slot and catching 10 passes for 138 yards. Brady hit eight different receivers with five catching at least five passes.

Brady's 36 completions on 58 attempts for 395 yards tied for the second most completions and was the most attempts in any game in his career. Welker tied Jerry Rice with his 15th career game of at least 10 receptions and more than 100 yards receiving.

Brady also topped 300 yards for the 49th time in his career to move into a tie for seventh all-time with Warren Moon.

And despite all those accomplishments, the Patriots headed home at 3-3.

"Who knows, it's not a magic wand, we're 3-3 for a reason," New England defensive tackle Vince Wilfork said. "Until we do something about it we are going to continue to have problems. Just didn't make enough, just didn't do enough and it cost us."

New England held a 23-10 lead midway through the fourth quarter and saw Seattle score the final 14 points in stunning fashion. Wilson hit Braylon Edwards on fourth down for a 10-yard TD to get the Seahawks within 23-17. After a pair of holds by Seattle's defense, Wilson found Rice streaking open on a double move for his third touchdown pass of the game. Steven Hauschka's extra point gave Seattle (4-2) the lead with 78 seconds remaining.

Brady had a final chance to make up for all the opportunities the Patriots (3-3) squandered. Starting at his 20 with 1:14 left, Brady missed Brandon Lloyd then was sacked by Jason Jones, the first sack all day by Seattle. His pass for Hernandez was incomplete, and Wes Welker was stopped short on fourth down.

"We've played some tough games on the road and showed a lot of toughness and we just have to execute better. I think that's what it comes down to," Brady said.

(Continued on page 2)

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