Seahawks vs. Patriots: Score and Twitter Reaction for Sunday Night Football

The New England Patriots beat the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX when Malcolm Butler intercepted a Russell Wilson pass at the goal line. Seattle got some revenge Sunday at Gillette Stadium with a 31-24 victory that featured an eerily similar ending.

The Patriots had 4th-and-goal from Seattle's 1-yard line in the final seconds with a chance to potentially force overtime, but Kam Chancellor hung tough in man-to-man coverage against Rob Gronkowski and forced the incompletion on a play with plenty of contact.

The NFL shared the deciding play on Twitter:

Many questioned Seattle when it didn't run the ball at the end of the Super Bowl, and Mina Kimes of ESPN The Magazine didn't miss the chance to flip the script Sunday:

Seattle is now 6-2-1 and in first place in the NFC West, while New England dropped to 7-2. The Patriots still lead the AFC East, but NFL on ESPN noted it has been a few years since they suffered two home losses in the same season:

Wilson spearheaded Seattle's attack with 348 passing yards and three touchdowns, while rookie C.J. Prosise led the team with 66 rushing yards and 87 receiving yards. Doug Baldwin had just 59 receiving yards, but he caught all three of Wilson's touchdowns.

On the other side, Tom Brady threw for 316 yards but failed to find the end zone and tossed an interception. LeGarrette Blount scored all three of New England's touchdowns to go along with his 69 rushing yards, while Martellus Bennett tallied a game-high 102 receiving yards.

Despite the loss, New England wasted little time scoring with a 75-yard touchdown drive on its first possession. Blount ran it in from a yard out after Gronkowski drew a pass interference in the end zone.

Dave Boling of the Tacoma News Tribune said, "Patriots made it look easy. No Seahawks pass pressure, short passes, as expected, gobble up yards for NE."

Brady helped his team set a record with a pass to Gronkowski on the drive, per ESPN Stats & Info:

Seattle answered with two field goals and a six-yard touchdown from Wilson to Baldwin. Shea McClellin blocked the extra point, and Seattle's defense kept the momentum on its side with a DeShawn Shead interception on the ensuing New England possession.

Gregg Bell of the News Tribune pointed to Seattle's pressure as a key to Brady's early struggles:

That pressure was missing, however, when the Patriots marched 81 yards on 11 plays and took the lead with another Blount touchdown as the second quarter wound down. Blount powered his way through a number of defenders to cross the plane, and Mike Petraglia of WEEI.com said, "Those are exactly the kind of drives you need to outlast the team Bill Belichick regards as one of if not the mentally toughest in NFL."

NFL Network shared Blount's second score of the night:

Gronkowski temporarily left the game after absorbing an Earl Thomas hit, but Brady proceeded to find Bennett for two completions before the touchdown.

Wilson answered with some individual heroics when he danced out of trouble and connected with Baldwin for an 18-yard score. It capped off a 75-yard drive that took a mere 59 seconds and gave Seattle a 19-14 halftime advantage.

The Seahawks shared video of the touchdown on Twitter, and Mike Reiss of ESPNBoston.com looked at the play from New England's perspective:

New England took the lead back after halftime with a 10-play, 91-yard drive that ended with Blount scoring his third touchdown on a 13-yard run. A roughing-the-passer penalty on Chancellor kept the drive alive when he hit Brady low, and the quarterback appeared to have a slight limp after the blow.

Seattle seized a 22-21 advantage with a 41-yard field goal from Steven Hauschka with 2:52 left in the third quarter, but it came after a sack and intentional grounding drove the offense back from New England's 5-yard line.

Lorenzo Reyes of USA Today commented on the Seahawks' failure to convert on a handful of chances:

The Patriots missed their own opportunity when they settled for a field goal after moving inside Seattle's 10-yard line.

It was the sixth lead change of the game, and the drive included a couple of notable plays from Brady's targets. Julian Edelman hauled in a 33-yard catch on 3rd-and-25, while Bennett steamrolled Thomas, as the NFL highlighted:

The back and forth continued with another Seattle field goal, which gave it a 25-24 lead. It came after Prosise was stopped at the 1-yard line on a second-down play that stood after replay review.

The Seahawks also just missed a critical turnover when Cyrus Jones fumbled the ensuing kickoff, and New England's Nate Ebner jumped on it. It took all of two plays, though, for Seattle to create that turnover when Chancellor stripped Edelman, and Richard Sherman recovered the fumble.

Wilson parlayed the turnover into a 15-yard touchdown pass to Baldwin, although Seattle missed the two-point conversion that would have put it up by nine. Instead, Brady got the ball back with 4:24 left and a 31-24 deficit.

Doug Kyed of NESN noted New England's defense was the primary issue for the home team: 

Brady went to work with perfectly placed fade routes to Edelman and Gronkowski, the second of which required an incredible over-the-shoulder catch from the tight end, as the NFL passed along:

Seattle's defense held strong on two sneak attempts from Brady and a run by Blount, which set up the 4th-and-goal from the 1-yard line (after a 12-men-on-the-field penalty from the Seahawks). 

That's when Brady threw the fade to Gronkowski that fell to the ground.

What's Next?

The Patriots hit the road for a two-game stretch against the New York Jets and San Francisco 49ers. The Jets and 49ers are a combined 4-15, so New England has a golden opportunity to bounce back and create some separation between itself and the rest of the AFC in the race for the No. 1 seed and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.

The Seahawks, meanwhile, head home to face the Philadelphia Eagles before traveling to play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Philadelphia and Tampa Bay are a combined 9-9, and each are playoff contenders at this point of the season. Seattle is trying to win the NFC West and also earn home-field advantage in the playoffs, so it will need to find a way to win against solid opponents like the Eagles and Bucs.

Postgame Reaction

Bell shared Chancellor’s comments after the win:

Baldwin recognized the similarities to the Super Bowl ending, per Bell: "It was kind of ironic, with the ball on the 1-yard line to end it. Fortunately the ball rolled our way this time."

On New England's side, Gronkowski said of the last play, "It didn't get called," per Kevin Duffy of MassLive. "It is what it is."

Gronkowski also said the hit from Thomas was one of the hardest of his career, per Petraglia.

Belichick discussed his team's performance, per Petraglia: "Front, coverage, turning ball over. All needs to be better. Not all bad but not where it needs to be."

Fortunately for New England, it still has plenty of time to fix those things before it attempts to make the Super Bowl this season. The Seahawks may just be waiting there if it does.