Patriots vs. Seahawks: Seattle's Biggest Winners & Losers from NFL Week 6

The New England Patriots kicked off against the Seattle Seahawks needing a win to keep the lead in the AFC East. The Seahawks weren't in a compliant mood, though, and pulled off a 24-23 win.

The Patriots showed why they have the NFL's top-ranked offense, posting season-highs on the Seahawks' defense relative to yards and points allowed.

It was Seattle's offense that took control at the end of the game, though.

There were winners and losers on both sides of the ball but the Seahawks certainly had a lot more positives in this game than concerns.

Following are my primary takeaways. Please share your additions in the comments section below.

Winner: The 12th Man

The New York Giants had issues with Seattle's crowd noise in 2010. They had 11 illegal procedure penalties and pressed the NFL to investigate how Seahawks Stadium/Qwest Field/CenturyLink Field can be so loud.

Tom Brady said he wasn't concerned with the crowd noise and said he was looking forward to getting the fans to turn on the Seahawks.

It didn't happen, obviously, and crowd noise impacted several Patriot drives.

This was the best win for the Seahawks fans since the 2010 season. Seattle's playoff win over the New Orleans Saints was one of the most memorable in franchise history and the crowd noise even triggered an earthquake.

Unlike short-sighted analysis that discounted the win over the Green Bay Packers last month, there is no denying the legitimacy of this win.

There's also no denying the tenacity of Seattle's fanbase and their rapport with the team.

"

Brady sure looks like a man who turned the 12thMan against us twitter.com/RSherman_25/st…

— Richard Sherman (@RSherman_25) October 15, 2012"

Winner and Loser: Seahawks' Pass Rush

Seattle managed to force a pair of intentional grounding calls and had one sack on the day. They applied periodic pressure on Tom Brady, but not enough to force him out of his comfort zone.

The result was Brady throwing for 395 yards.

This wasn’t the kind of performance the team had hoped to get, but the front four stepped up at the end of both halves.

Pressure from Chris Clemons led to the intentional grounding penalty and a 10-second runoff at the end of the second quarter. The half expired and kept the Patriots from attempting a field goal that could have made a big difference in the game.

Jason Jones registered a sack in the final minute of the game to help Seattle stop the Patriots’ final drive. 

The pass rush was missing through much of the game, but showed up when needed most.

Winner: Cortez Kennedy

Seahawks fans had a special halftime presentation on Sunday. Cortez Kennedy was presented with his Hall of Fame ring and had his jersey retired by the Seahawks.

It was a special moment for fans that stuck with the team during the Ken Behring years.

Kennedy shared his respect of his teammates and the fanbase.

Winner: Richard Sherman and Earl Thomas

Prior to the game, Brady supposedly had some choice words for Seattle's secondary. “He told me and [safety Earl Thomas] to see him after the game when they win….. I found him after.”

Sherman shared his thoughts and a picture of him tracking down Brady after the game, writing "U mad bro" in red letters on the picture. It appears the tweet has since been removed.          

Brady wanted nothing to do with Sherman after the game, as he had a little too much of him and Thomas during it.

Sherman and Thomas each caught a pass from Brady in the red zone on Sunday.

"

My brother's Interception ball from today's game!! Thanks #TomBrady another one for the shelf!! Haaaa!! #SeahawksWin twitter.com/branton_sherma…

— Tuhreyn Sherman (@branton_sherman) October 15, 2012"

Loser: Matt Flynn

Any momentum that was building towards Matt Flynn getting a chance to run the Seahawks’ offense is officially dead. Seattle fans wanted to see a viable passing attack and that is exactly what they were given on Sunday.

Seattle still needs to give Flynn some playing time this season to showcase his abilities, but it isn't going to come when the outcome of a game is in question.

Winner: Russell Wilson

There has been some discontent with Seahawks fans that were concerned with Seattle's lack of a passing offense. Russell Wilson was close to having a 300-yard game in Carolina, but an unnecessary hold by Breno Giacomini nullified a 50-yard completion to Golden Tate.

The two hooked up on a 51-yard completion on Sunday that stuck in the books.

Wilson had a nice scramble and it looked like he was going to run when he aired the ball out to Doug Baldwin for 50 yards.

He also hit Sidney Rice on a deep pass but Rice couldn't quite get 50 yards out of the play...because the end zone was only 46 yards away.

That touchdown pass gave the Seahawks a 24-23 lead with just over a minute left in the game. 

Wilson was 16-of-27 for 293 yards and three touchdowns. He wasn't intercepted and his QB rating was a whopping 133.7.

Wilson also fared rather well under ESPN's Total QBR.

"

Russell Wilson's 91.4 Total QBR is highest for a #Seahawks QB in over 4 years (Week 3 of '08)

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) October 15, 2012"

Winner: Seattle’s Defense

If a team had the opportunity to choose when to score the go-ahead touchdown they would likely opt to do so when the final seconds tick off the clock. There were discussions in the stands that the touchdown pass to Sidney Rice left too much time on the clock.

I took a different perspective that raised a few eyebrows.

I wanted the Seahawks to leave time on the clock for Brady to attempt a comeback. 

Seattle’s defense needed an opportunity to step up and stop an elite offense to seal a win. They did just that on Sunday and the four-and-done will pay dividends later in the season.

Winner: Seattle's Receivers

Concerns have been raised regarding the skill level of the Seahawks receivers. Fans and some analysts have claimed that Seattle lack playmakers and state the receivers aren't able to get separation.

I've contended that Sidney Rice is one of the premier receivers in the NFL and Golden Tate, Doug Baldwin and Braylon Edwards complement the positions.

The coaches film has shown that receivers have been open the season, but Wilson struggled with finding the openings or pulling the trigger to deliver the ball.

The receivers came up big-time on Sunday. Three of them had plays of over 45 yards and Braylon Edwards reminded fans and opposing defenses that he's still a red-zone threat.

Winner: Breno Giacomini, Et Al with Eliminating Penalties

The Seahawks have struggled with penalties this season and Breno Giacomini has been a lightning rod for yellow hankies. 

There was an outcry for him to be benched or worse after two costly penalties last week.

I took a different approach, mostly because even with the mistakes he is far better than any other healthy option on the roster.

Pete Carroll believes Giacomini and the rest of the roster could get a handle on the penalty issues and that was certainly the case on Sunday. The team cut penalties down to just four for 30 yards.

Clint Gresham, the long snapper, and center Max Unger were both called for a false start. Paul McQuistan was called for holding.

Giacomini did have another costly penalty, as his holding call nullified a 26-yard scramble by Russell Wilson to convert on third down. Then again, if Giacomini hadn't pulled down Rob Ninkovich he would have sacked Wilson, who chose to roll out of a clean pocket.

Winner: John Schneider, Pete Carroll and the Coaching Staff

Carroll and John Schneider have taken several gambles on players. Most have worked out quite well, while a few are still being tested.

Taking center stage on Sunday was the player some dubbed the worst pick in the 2012 draft. Wilson had the best game of his young career, engineering two fourth-quarter scoring drives.

The coaches called a great game and put the players in a position to win on Sunday. 

In doing so, they ensured Brady will never notch a win in Seattle.

"

Tom Brady has never lost a game when his team led by 13 points in the fourth quarter...until today. SEA-HAWKS!

— Brian Nemhauser (@hawkblogger) October 15, 2012"

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Darin Pike is a writer for Bleacher Report's Breaking News Team and a Featured Columnist covering the NFL and Seattle Seahawks.