SEATTLE — Breaking free from the New England secondary, Sidney Rice looked up into the Seattle drizzle with admiration.
Just more than a minute remained in the game. The Patriots were in command most of the afternoon, despite blowing multiple red-zone opportunities.
Then, Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson lofted a pass to Rice with the end of the game looming and the Seahawks trailing 23-17.
“The whole time I came out of my break, I was looking at the ball in the air,” Rice said. “It was so pretty. I was just running. I was like, ‘you’ve got to catch up to it.’ ”
Rice did. The 46-yard connection allowed the Seattle Seahawks to stun the New England Patriots with a 24-23 win Sunday afternoon at damp CenturyLink Field.
New England got the ball back with 1:18 remaining, but linebacker Bobby Wagner corralled Wes Welker after a 15-yard gain on fourth-and-17 to seal Seattle’s second consecutive win.
Now, the Seahawks are searching for respect.
“People don’t understand,” cornerback Richard Sherman said. “We’ve got great players out here. We’ve got great players in the Pacific Northwest. The Seattle Seahawks have a lot of talent. People, they don’t look at the film. They don’t analyze anything. That’s why these analysts and commentators need to shut their mouth.”
New England was in front 23-10 with 9:21 left in the fourth quarter prior to the Seahawks (4-2) grinding back into the game behind Wilson and stern defense.
A 51-yard completion to Golden Tate set up a 10-yard touchdown pass to Braylon Edwards on fourth-and-3 to pull the Seahawks within 23-17 with 7:21 left in the fourth quarter. The touchdown to Edwards was his first since the 2010 season when he was with the Jets and ended a run of 16 consecutive points by the Patriots.
A 35-yard field goal by Stephen Gostowksi goal stretched the Patriots’ lead to 20-10 with 9:21 left in the third quarter following Seattle’s three-and-out to start the second half. Gostowski also hit a 35-yard field goal with 9:21 left in the fourth quarter.
Tom Brady finished 36 of 58 for 395 yards. Wilson was 16 for 27 for 293 yards and three touchdowns. Neither team did much on the ground.
Sherman ended New England’s progressing drive midway through the third quarter when he intercepted Brady. Brady’s second interception of the season caused no damage, however. The Seahawks did not pick up a first down after the turnover.
Brady was intercepted again, this time in the end zone, by Earl Thomas. Thomas zigged and zagged up the field for a 23-yard return. The Seahawks started the drive by having Rice throw to Tate, which drew a 40-yard pass interference penalty.
But, the Patriots’ Jerod Mayo forced Zach Miller to fumble after Miller gained seven yards and made it to the Patriots’ 30-yard line. New England converted the turnover into a 35-yard field goal by Gostowski to produce a 23-10 lead.
The Patriots produced only three points on two first-half Seattle turnovers. Gostowski hit a 25-yard field goal after the Patriots recovered a fumble by Wilson caused by Chandler Jones late in the second quarter.
“You have opportunities to score points, the interception in the end zone,” Brady said. “We’re driving the ball and the interception to Sherman up the seam. Make a play at the end of the half to squander three points, then you lose by one point ….
“We have to do a better job. Certainly, I have to do a better job.”
Seahawks punter Jon Ryan dropped the snap and was tackled at the Seahawks’ 24-yard line with 40 seconds left in the first half. But, Brady threw high and was called for intentional grounding on third-and-6. One second remained in the half, but the intentional grounding forced a 10-second runoff of the clock, leaving the Patriots, who were out of timeouts, without a chance to kick a field goal.
Wilson created with his feet to drive the Seahawks to their first touchdown. He looped out of the backfield and threw on the run for a 50-yard completion to Doug Baldwin. The Patriots thought they had him locked up on an earlier third-and-4, but Wilson ran left, right, then forward and spun out of a tackle to gain nine yards.
A play later, he shifted out of the pocket to his right and completed a 15-yard touchdown to Baldwin to put the Seahawks in front 10-7.
The Patriots regained their earlier lead when they split tight end Aaron Hernandez off the line to get him isolated against Jeron Johnson on third-and-goal from the 2-yard line. Brady lofted a pass to the corner and Hernandez snagged it over Johnson, who had no chance on the play, to put New England back up 14-10 with 10:33 to go in the second quarter. Rob Gronkowksi had four catches for 40 yards on the drive.
Welker flew out front of Seahawks’ safety Earl Thomas and Brady hit him with a pinpoint pass for a 46-yard touchdown and 7-3 Patriots lead with 5:49. It was the Patriots’ up-tempo approach at its finest. After a 20-yard completion to Brandon Lloyd, Brady hit Welker. The Patriots went 82 yards in just 1:46 for the score.
The Seahawks efficient opening drive was stuffed at the Patriots 11-yard line when Brandon Spikes stormed through the middle and clobbered Lynch for a 2-yard loss. Steven Hauschka came on to kick a 34-yard field goal following a false start penalty to give the Seahawks a 3-0 lead with 7:35 left in the first quarter.
“What a day,” Seattle coach Pete Carroll said. “It was a day when they were really doing a lot of good stuff. We didn’t know if we were going to get a chance to slow them down enough to make plays.
“It took every play. Every rush and run. Everything we did today, it had to happen for us to have a chance.”
Notes: Former Seahawks offensive lineman Walter Jones raised the 12th Man flag pregame. … The Seahawks honored defensive lineman Cortez Kennedy, who was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame this August, by retiring his No. 96 at halftime. Kennedy is one of three Seattle players to have their number retired by the organization. The other two are Steve Largent’s 80 and Walter Jones’ 71. … Patriots running back Brandon Bolden left the game with a knee injury.