The Result
After trailing for the entire game, the New England Patriots drove down the field late in the 4th quarter and scored on a 1 yard run by Sammy Morris to earn a hard fought 24-21 win over the Seattle Seahawks at Qwest Field in Seattle.
With the win, the Patriots move into a 3-way tie for first place in the AFC East as the Jets lost to San Francisco and the Dolphins beat the Bills. All 3 teams are 8-5 but right now the Jets hold the tiebreaker.
If it weren’t for a big defensive play by safety Brandon Meriweather with under 2 minutes to go in the game, the Seahawks may have kicked a field goal or even scored the game winning touchdown.
Seattle had the ball 1st/10 at New England’s 44, Patriots defensive coordinator Dean Pees called for a safety blitz that was perfectly timed by Meriweather who knocked the ball out of Seneca Wallace’s hands. Richard Seymour recovered the fumble to set up the Patriots for 3 straight kneel downs.
This wasn’t an easy victory for the Patriots as they had to overcome the loss of 4 defensive starters. It was so bad for the Patriots on the injury front that both Junior Seau and Rosevelt Colvin saw action in the game. Seau definitely didn’t look like his old self but for a guy who hasn’t strapped on the cleats since the Super Bowl, it wasn’t really that bad of an performance. He was burned on Seattle’s second touchdown pass of the day.
Matt Cassel rebounded from his awful performance last week against the Steelers to lead the Patriots today. He was cool, calm and collected throughout the game and led the Patriots on four drives of 10 plays or more, including the game winning drive.
Seattle didn’t play like a 2-10 team behind Wallace. Wallace used his legs and former Patriots wide receiver Deion Branch had a breakout game against his old team as he caught 4 passes for 88 yards and 2 touchdowns.
It’s a good win for the Patriots as they were able to take advantage of the Jets losing to keep their playoff chances alive. They will stay on the west coast this week before heading to Oakland next weekend.
Scoring Plays
| PATRIOTS | 3 | 7 | 3 | 11 | 24 |
| SEAHAWKS | 7 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 21 |
1st Quarter
SEA – Senenca Wallace 14 yard pass to Deion Branch (Olindo Mare PAT)
NE – Stephen Gostowski 50 yard field goal
2nd Quarter
SEA – Wallace 10 yard pass to John Carlson (Mare PAT)
NE – Matt Cassel 2 yard pass to Benjamin Watson (Gostowski PAT)
3rd Quarter
NE – Gostowski 42 yard field goal
SEA – Wallace 4 yard pass to Branch (Mare PAT)
4th Quarter
NE – Gostowski 27 yard field goal
NE – Sammy Morris 1 yard run (Cassel to Welker 2 point conversion)
Offensive Player of the Game
Wes Welker had 12 receptions for 134 yards.
Defensive Player of the Game
Brandon Meriweather had 6 tackles (all solo), a sack and a forced fumble.
Turning Point(s) of the Game
With the Seahawks trailing by 3 and driving down the field, Brandon Merriweather blitzes and sacks Seneca Wallace forcing a fumble that is recovered by Richard Seymour.
Offensive Leaders/Notes
Matt Cassel was 26-of-44 for 268 yards and 1 touchdown. Wes Welker was the leading receiver with 12 catches for 134 yards. Sammy Morris had 11 carries for 36 yards and a touchdown.
1st qtr – 2nd/8 NE 20 – Matt Cassel hits Wes Welker for 10 yards and a 1st down
1st/10 NE 20 – Cassel hits Randy Moss for 10 yards and a 1st down
2nd/7 NE 33 – Cassel hits Welker for 20 yards and a 1st down
2nd/10 SEA 47 – Sammy Morris runs right for 9 yards
3rd/1 SEA 38 – Morris stopped for no gain – flag on the play – defensive holding on Seahawks for 5 yards and a 1st down
2nd/5 SEA 28 – Cassel pass to Morris who was stopped for a 4 yard loss
2nd qtr – 1st/10 SEA 43 – Cassel hits Moss for a 13 yard gain and a 1st down
2nd/6 SEA 26 – Lamont Jordan runs for 4 yards and fumbles that he recovers.
3rd/2 – SEA 22 – Cassel runs 3 yards for a 1st down
1st/10 SEA 19 – Jordan rushes for 8 yards
2nd/2 SEA 11 – Cassel pass to Moss incomplete – flag on the play – defensive pass interference on Seahawks. Pats get ball at SEA 2
1st/goal SEA 2 – Cassel hits Benjamin Watson for 2 yard touchdown – Patriots called for unsportsmanlike celebration penalty to be enforced on the kickoff
1st/10 NE 10 – Cassel hits Jabar Gaffney for 9 yards
2nd/1 NE 19 – Morris runs 2 yards for a 1st down
2nd/10 NE 21 – Kevin Faulks runs for 7 yards
3rd/3 NE 28 – Cassel hits Welker for 12 yards and a 1st down
2nd/4 NE 46 – Morris runs left for 4 yards and a 1st down
3rd/10 NE 50 – Cassel sacked for 3 yard loss
1st/10 NE 27 – Cassel hits Faulk for a 9 yard gain
3rd/1 NE 36 – Cassel hits Gaffney for 6 yards and a 1st down
3rd qtr – 2nd/4 NE 25 – Cassel hits Welker for 8 yards and a 1st down
3rd/10 NE 33 – Cassel hits Welker for 17 yards and a 1st down
3rd/3 SEA 43 – Cassel hits Welker for 12 yards and a 1st down
3rd/10 NE 33 – Cassel hits Gaffney for 28 yards and a 1st down
4th qtr – 3rd/7 SEA 46 – Cassel hits Moss for 33 yards and a 1st down
1st/10 NE 29 – Cassel sacked for 4 yard loss
2nd/14 NE 25 – Cassel scrambles for 9 yards
3rd/5 NE 34 – Cassel hits Faulk for 11 yards and a 1st down
3rd/4 SEA 49 – Cassel hits Gaffney for 5 yards and a 1st down
3rd/10 SEA 44 – Cassel hits Welker for 13 yards and a 1st down
1st/10 SEA 31 – Cassel hits Welker for 25 yards and a 1st down
1st/Goal SEA 6 – Cassel sacked for a 1 yard loss
2nd/Goal SEA 7 – Faulk rushes 6 yards
4th/Goal SEA 1 – Morris rushes 1 yard for a touchdown
PAT – Cassel hits Welker for 2 point conversion
Defensive Leaders/Notes
Jerod Mayo and Mike Vrabel both had 7 tackles (6 solo, 1 assisted). Brandon Meriweather had 6 tackles, a sack and a forced fumble.
1st qtr – 1st/11 NE 11 – Brandon Meriweather stops Maurice Morris for a 3 yard loss
2nd qtr – 3rd/8 NE 47 – Meriweather makes great pass breakup to force 4th down
1st/10 SEA 31 – Richard Seymour stops a Seneca Wallace to Jesse Carlson pass for a 1 yard loss
3rd qtr – 1st/10 SEA 35 – Mike Vrabel stops Morris for no gain
4th qtr – 1st/10 SEA 23 – Le Kevin Smith stops Morris for 1 yard loss
1st/10 SEA 33 – Meriweather stops Morris for 3 yard loss
1st/10 NE 44 – Meriweather sacks Wallace for 5 yard loss and forces a fumble that is recovered by Seymour
Special Teams Notes
2nd quarter – Ellis Hobbs returns kickoff 55 yards to give Pats the ball at SEA 43
Chris Hanson shanks a punt for just 22 yards
Coaching Decisions
3rd qtr – Bill Belichick challenges 63 yard reception by Deion Branch. Challenge was upheld and the Patriots lose a timeout.
4th qtr – 4th and 1 at SEA 1 – Belichick decides to go for it down 5 and he’s rewarded with a touchdown.
Injuries
- Vince Wilfork hurt his shoulder in the 1st quarter and his return was announced as questionable
- Tedy Bruschi suffered a knee injury in the 2nd quarter and walked the field under his own power. His return was announced as questionable.
- Mike Vrabel was shaken up and walked off the field under his own power in the 2nd quarter. He did return to the game.
- James Sanders suffered a rib injury but did return to the game.
The Officials
- The referee was Carl Cheffers.
- The officials got the review call right on Branch’s 63 yard reception.
Game Notes
- Patriots inactives: WR Kelley Washington, OLB Vince Redd, OLB Pierre Woods, OT Wesley Britt, C/G Billy Yates, TE David Thomas, DE Ty Warren, Matt Gutierrez — 3rd quarterback
- Note: The third quarterback can still enter the game at any time, but if he does so in the first, second or third quarters, the team can no longer use its top two quarterbacks the rest of the game.
- Offensive starters for the Patriots:
QB: Matt Cassel
RB: Sammy Morris
FB: Heath Evans
WR: Randy Moss
WR: Wes Welker
LT: Matt Light
LG: Logan Mankins
C: Dan Koppen
RG: Stephen Neal
RT: Nick Kaczur
TE: Benjamin Watson - Defensive starters for the Patriots:
DE: Jarvis Green
NT: Vince Wilfork
DE: Richard Seymour
OLB: Mike Vrabel
ILB: Jerod Mayo
ILB: Tedy Bruschi
OLB: Gary Guyton
CB: Ellis Hobbs
CB: Jonathan Wilhite
S: James Sanders
S: Brandon Meriweather - The Seahawks won the toss and elected to defer until the second half
- Since replacing Tom Brady, Matt Cassel is now 6-5 as a NFL starting QB.
- New England is now 67-17 in games played after November 1st since 2001.
- The Patriots had 4 drives of 10 plays or more.
Post Game Press Conferences
Listen to what Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, quarterback Matt Cassel and wide receiver Wes Welker had to say about the game. Press conferences were not available at time of post and will be linked to when available.
Post game press conferences via patriots.com
Things To Work On For Next Week
- Get everyone healthy
Next Week’s Opponent
The Patriots will stay on the west coast and then travel to Oakland to take on the Raiders next Sunday at 4:15 PM.
