Cam Newton nearly dons Superman cape, but talent too much for Patriots

Meanwhile, an out-manned Patriots team came out ready to play. The Patriots not only capitalized on the pick-6, but they scored a touchdown on their opening drive and a field goal on their opening drive of the second half. Josh McDaniels effectively used tempo to keep the Seahawks on their toes, and found creative ways to move the ball.

The Patriots made it a competitive game for two-plus quarters, but they just don’t have enough talent on either side of the ball to keep up with the Seahawks.

⋅ Plenty of good from Cam Newton. But enough bad to hold the Patriots back. Newton has single-handedly solved the Patriots short-yardage and red-zone rushing issues from the past few years. Not only is he a big load to bring down, but he solves a lot of problems as an extra blocker. He is so effective down on the goal line, and also opens up possibilities for play-action passes, as they showed on Jakob Johnson’s touchdown to start the fourth quarter. Newton finished as the leading rusher, with 47 yards and two more rushing touchdowns, but unfortunately got stuffed on both the Johnson two-point conversion and the potential game-winning sneak.

And Newton showed more promise as a passer. He finished 30 for 44 for 397 yards, a touchdown, and an interception, and showed a lot of fight in the second half as the Patriots played from behind. Newton connected on several nice throws to Damiere Byrd on the outside, and got into a rhythm with Julian Edelman over the middle in the second half. Newton made several precision throws early in the third quarter to move the chains, and hit Edelman on a beautiful 49-yarder over the top of the defense.

Newton just wasn’t good enough to overcome a significant talent deficit. He was at fault for his interception in the third quarter, throwing behind Byrd and into the pouncing arms of Quinton Dunbar. And Newton occasionally doesn’t set his feet and sails a few throws.

⋅ Russell Wilson is incredible and already making his case for MVP. He threw five touchdown passes to five different receivers. He rushed five times for 39 yards, with a long of 21. He threw a bullet on the run for a touchdown to Tyler Lockett, a perfect rainbow to D.K. Metcalf for a 54-yard touchdown, and another perfect deep ball for a 38-yard touchdown to David Moore. Bill Belichick said, “there’s nobody better than Russell Wilson,” and it’s hard to argue.

⋅ The Patriots’ defensive line got pushed around a lot. The Seahawks scored touchdowns on four of six drives after the opening turnover, and ran the ball at will. Wilson was deadly, and Chris Carson averaged a healthy 4.2 yards per carry. The Patriots seem to be giving more snaps to defensive backs, and it may be hurting their run defense.

⋅ The Patriots definitely benefitted from not having fans. Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth kept remarking how strange it was not having fans at CenturyLink Field, and I think it played significantly into the Patriots’ favor. That’s the loudest and arguably toughest stadium to play at in the NFL, and the Patriots didn’t have to worry about any communication issues on Sunday night. There were no false starts, no blown plays. And for a team integrating a new quarterback, not having the noise was a huge relief.

Ben Volin can be reached at ben.volin@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @BenVolin