8 snap count observations from Seahawks win over Patriots

SEATTLE, WA - SEPTEMBER 09: Jadarian Price #8 of the Seattle Seahawks carries the ball against the New England Patriots during the first half of the NFL football game at Lumen Field on September 9, 2026 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images) | Getty Images

It's usually not all that notable when a team comes back from 10 points in the second half to win a game, but the Seattle Seahawks overcoming a 10-0 third quarter deficit to beat the New England Patriots 13-10 to start the 2026 NFL season is one of those exceptions.

Sam Darnold was lost to injury on the fifth play of the game, the Seahawks defense was already missing starters Nick Emmanwori and Ty Okada, penalties were killing Seattle in all three phases, and the offense was struggling to sustain drives for most of the night. In the blink of an eye, the penalties stopped, the defense created three massive interceptions, and Drew Lock and company did just enough to score the game's final 13 points.

We now have the snap count data from last night, so let's take a look at what stands out on offense and defense.

Seattle Seahawks offensive snap counts

• The Seahawks essentially rolled with four targets from the WR and TE position. Montorie Foster Jr was the team's fourth WR on the depth chart with no Tory Horton available, and the Seahawks opted to limit him to special teams. It was all about Jaxon Smith-Njigba, A.J. Barner, Cooper Kupp, and Rashid Shaheed. Elijah Arroyo and Eric Saubert had just 21 snaps combined and only 10 of them were on passing downs.
• Brady Russell gets his heaviest offensive workload to date. With Robbie Ouzts out for the season, it's Brady Russell (or is it George Holani, Mike Tirico?) who will be the fullback this year. He played a career-high 17 offensive snaps, catching the first two passes of his NFL career.
• Jadarian Price and George Holani split RB1 duties for the night. How would the Seahawks handle their rookie running back's snaps? Well, out of his 11 snaps on passing plays, Price did not have a single rep in pass protection. Not even a chip. Holani had 23 snaps, and several of his passing down reps involved taking on a pass rusher. This probably isn't changing for as long as Zach Charbonnet is out, or until the coaching staff feels Price can take some of those responsibilities in the passing game.
• Emanuel Wilson only had three snaps, one of which was on the failed 3rd and 1 (with Josh Jones' only snap coming in this same play). The next play was a touchdown to Jaxon Smith-Njigba so Wilson can say he was on the field for Seattle's only TD.

Seattle Seahawks defensive snap counts

• Rodney Thomas II plays almost every snap. The former Indianapolis Colts starter was called up from the practice squad to replace Ty Okada, and while A.J. Finley was directly signed to the active roster, Finley was basically a healthy scratch without being an official inactive. Rodney's only snap missed was the Patriots touchdown at the goal line, which was so stacked with linebackers and d-lineman that the only secondary player on the field was Julian Love. Thomas helped spark Seattle's comeback with the tip drill interception alongside Nehemiah Pritchett.
• Dante Fowler Jr didn't feature much in his Seahawks debut, and there were a few occasions in which he was lined up alongside two other edge rushers, kicking one of them to the inside. Mike Macdonald twice had Fowler line up as a Wide 9" beyond the tight end. He only had six pass rushing snaps based on my initial charting.
• Tyrice Knight did not play a single snap on third down, which is unsurprising given Seattle's default is 5+ DBs in these scenarios. Nearly every snap he had was a running play, but he at least got on the field.
• Josh Jobe takes a firmer CB2 role in Week 1, but Nehemiah Pritchett plays plenty. When Josh Jobe increased his role in last season's defense, he didn't really wrest the CB2 spot away from Riq Woolen. Some weeks Jobe played more, other weeks Woolen played more, and Woolen outsnapped Jobe throughout the playoffs. For Week 1 of 2026, Jobe solidified himself as the clear CB2 on the team, but don't discount Nehemiah Pritchett being that nickel corner. Pritchett had a great performance and played 53 snaps, more or less coming out of the game when they put Tyrice Knight in as a third linebacker.

And that's a wrap for Week 1. The champs can rest and recover before a Week 2 road trip to Glendale to face the Arizona Cardinals.