The 2026 National Football League season commenced on Wednesday with the Seattle Seahawks defeating the New England Patriots 13-10 in a defensive battle. The game was overshadowed by two key injuries–one on each team. Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold of Capistrano Beach, California is out for the short term with a hip injury, and Patriots wide receiver AJ Brown of Starkville, Mississippi will be out for the long term with a high ankle sprain.
Darnold won a Super Bowl for the Seahawks last season. Seattle defeated New England 29-13 in San Francisco this past February. Darnold’s Wednesday night hip injury happened early in the game. On the Seahawks’s opening drive, Darnold was sacked. He had only thrown two passes, and completed a 13 yard pass to Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
Brown was playing in his first game with the Patriots after being traded to New England from Philadelphia on June 1 for a first round pick in the 2028 NFL Draft and a fifth round pick in the 2027 NFL Draft.
The injury happened in the third quarter. Brown had his ankle landed on by Seahawks cornerback Nehemiah Pritchett during a play.
Heading into the season, Brown was expected to be the Patriots top receiver. He had 78 catches for 1003 receiving yards and seven touchdown catches. Now expect to see Mack Hollins of Rockville, Maryland to get more playing time.
The reason why the Seahawks got the win was because of their defense. Patriots quarterback Drake Maye only had 178 yards passing and was picked off three times. The most notable interception came at the end of the game. With 26 seconds left, Josh Jobe intercepted a 16-yard pass by Maye in the end zone.
