Patriots news: Drake Maye's rough opener has Will Campbell silver lining

On Wednesday evening, the New England Patriots choked a double-digit second-half lead and dropped their first game of the season to the Seattle Seahawks in a rematch of last year's Super Bowl. Quarterback Drake Maye tossed three interceptions in the fourth quarter alone, including a brutal decision on a late third down when New England was in position to at least tie the game with a field goal.

However, it wasn't all bad news on the offensive side of the ball for New England.

" Will Campbell allowed just 1 pressure on 44 pass block snaps last night, a major improvement over the 8 pressures he allowed in the Super Bowl. He's on pace for a leap forward in year 2 now that he's fully healthy," reported NFL Draft Files on X, formerly Twitter.

Watch sports LIVE with fuboTV (free trial)

Indeed, Campbell looked much better on Wednesday night than he did in the Super Bowl against the same Seahawks' defensive front, after which he drew immense criticism for his poor performance.

As NFL Draft Files referenced, Campbell was dealing with an injury in that contest, so that could explain at least part of the improvement, although he has also clearly spent time working on his game this offseason.

"Biggest improvement is timing up the snap count and getting a good jump… it's so important to put yourself in a good position to not have to rush. And it's incredibly hard to do in Seattle. Very encouraging night for Will," noted TJ Lang on X.

While this is certainly a positive development, it also makes it all the more troubling that Maye had such a rough close to the game despite having much more time in the pocket.

In any case, the Patriots will next hit the field on September 20 against the Pittsburgh Steelers .