SEATTLE — So what happened on the final play in the New England Patriots' 13-10 loss to the Seattle Seahawks in Week 1?

From afar, it was pretty obvious. Drake Maye, already reeling from back-to-back interceptions thrown the drives prior and scrambling for his life, tried to find Mack Hollins in the end zone. It was picked off, quite impressively, by Seahawks cornerback Josh Jobe to clinch the victory.

It was in the final moments of the fourth quarter of a one-score game. The ideal scenario was that Hollins — who had come up big on that drive already with a fourth down conversion — brings it down for the game-winning touchdown.

The next-most ideal scenario was that the ball sails out of bounds and the Patriots live to play another down. Maybe they can drain some more time off the clock and take it to overtime evened up at 13.

What actually happened was the worst-case scenario. And it was the nail in the coffin for the Patriots' first loss of the season.

Here's What Happened:

"Well, I mean, we were trying to be aggressive and obviously win the football game, but not reckless," head coach Mike Vrabel said postgame. "And, again, you don’t get any do-overs, but we’ll have to learn from it and, stick together. Never just about one guy. I think everybody knows that by now."

Maye told reporters that the hope was to get the ball out of bounds. Instead, he just left it with too much air that it fluttered for a bit too long. The 24-year-old quarterback called his performance "unacceptable" and now how he wants to play the game. That throw was part of that explanation.

"It was something where we had a certain protection on," Maye said. "I was trying to get rid of it. Mack was in back there in the back and (I) didn't put enough on to get it out, and it was just unacceptable."

All he had to do was just get it out of bounds. That's easier said than sone, of course. That way the Patriots could have had another shot at the end zone, or just settle for an Andy Borregales field goal. It felt eerily similar to the Patriots' 2022 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, where Rhamondre Stevenson fumbled the ball at the goal line instead of punching it in to take the lead.

It was a second half that Maye would like to forget. After his media availability, he went into the locker room and took a long time sitting down at his locker. So did some of his teammates, including wide receiver Romeo Doubs. It wasn't a great showing by any of the players that are expected to lead this Patriots team.

Maye's Third INT Wrapped Up Awful Second Half

For Hollins, his perspective was that he didn't do a good enough job breaking up the pass.

"I gotta try and break up the ball, if I can," the wide receiver said in the locker room. "I wasn't able to do that."

As far as where that interception ranked in terms of Maye's three, it wasn't the most egregious. The first two — a forced throw to Doubs down the left sideline, and a jumped route across the middle targeting DeMario Douglas — were far worse from a quarterbacking perspective.

It just stung for the Patriots to lose on a throw they would have liked to have back.

"We had the game under control. I though we had a good plan to try and start chipping away and be patient, and yeah, lost patience and costed us," Maye said. "I think just decisions that cost the came on my part and my end. (I have to) be better. ... At the same time, you can't have those. We can't have those and it's unacceptable."

Make sure you bookmark New England Patriots on SI for the latest news, exclusive interviews, film breakdowns, and so much more!