Sunday marked the fourth meeting between the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots since February of 2015. These teams rarely play one another, but when they do, these showdowns feature razor-thin margins and often come down to the final play of the game. Week 2 was no different, as the Seahawks narrowly escaped with a 23-20 victory in overtime thanks to a Jason Myers field goal.

What I find fascinating is the fact a walk-off field goal in overtime is somehow arguably the least dramatic or memorable ending to a Seattle/New England game. Starting in Super Bowl XLIX, and bleeding over into the next two meetings, these games were all decided literally at the goal line thanks to Herculean efforts by the defenses to prevent touchdowns.

Perhaps this was a symptom of the chess match between Bill Belichick and Pete Carroll. Perhaps it was fate. Whatever it may have been, it certainly speaks to how intense these games usually are that the Seahawks' nail-biting win in Week 2 may not have lived up to the "usual" hype. Let us take a trip down recent memory lane to see how these games have typically gone.

February 1st, 2015 - Super Bowl XLIX

No need to spend much time here, we all know how this went. Second down, Russell Wilson's pass is intercepted at the goal line by Malcolm Butler, robbing Seattle a chance at a second-straight Lombardi, blah blah blah, seared into our collective memories forever, yada yada yada... we get it.

Moving on.

November 13th, 2016 - Seahawks defeat Patriots 31-24 in Foxboro

Now we're talking. In the first meeting between these teams since the infamous Super Bowl, the Seahawks earned their first shot at revenge. No, the stakes were not as high nor the glory as great as a ring, but it was still a worthy counterpunch. New England hosted Seattle on Sunday Night Football and were the heavy favorites. It was a back and forth affair, but in the waning minutes Russell Wilson connected with Doug Baldwin for a third time to turn their 25-24 lead into 31-24 (and the score remained as such, since Seattle failed to score on the ensuing two-point conversion attempt).

Tom Brady and the Patriots were not going to go quietly into the night, as he marched New England all the way to Seattle's one-yard line. Seattle stuffed Brady twice when he attempted his usually unstoppable quarterback sneaks, and prevented Pats running back LeGarrette Blount from scoring a fourth touchdown. On fourth down, Brady's pass to Rob Gronkowski fell incomplete thanks to great defense from Kam Chancellor. Seattle secured a poetic victory.

New England did go on to win the Super Bowl later in the year, but the Seahawks handed Tom Brady his only loss of the season.

September 20th, 2020 - Seahawks defeat Patriots 35-30 in Seattle

Ah the Covid year, where artifical crowd noise was pumped into an empty Lumen Field, which otherwise would have been a sellout crowd for such a marquee matchup. New England had returned to Seattle for the first time since the 2012 season (a 24-23 Seahawks win during Russell Wilson's rookie season) and were experiencing life without Tom Brady.

Once again getting the Sunday Night Football treatment, game between two defensive head coaches turned into an offensive shootout between their quarterbacks. Russell Wilson and Cam Newton faced little resistance from either defense. Wilson had five passing touchdowns, while Newton passed for 397 yards, a score, and two rushing touchdowns.

Newton was about to have a third. New England had cut Seattle's 35-23 fourth quarter lead down to 35-30, forced a punt, and were on the march. Once more, the Patriots were knocking at Seattle's goal line This time, they were threatening to escape Lumen with a victory. The Seahawks had seemingly no answer for Newton, and when he took the direct snap to run it in, it appeared all hope was lost...

...until Seattle's defensive line finally burst through and blew up the run. Newton was stopped, the final seconds ticked off the clock, and the Seahawks held on for another thrilling finish.

September 15th, 2024 - Seahawks defeat Patriots 23-20 in overtime

Now, we're back to where we started. In the four most recent meetings, the Seahawks have gone 3-1. Yes, they lost the Super Bowl, which is the ultimate trump card. Yet Seattle has won three-straight, including two at Foxboro. No, it doesn't equal a Lombardi, but it does help dull the pain a bit.

Interestingly, not only was this the only Seahawks/Patriots showdown in recent years that did not end in goal line dramatics, but it's also the first one since 2012 where the primetime NBC broadcast crew did not call the game.

As it stands currently, these two teams are not slated to play each other again until the 2028 season in Seattle when the NFC West and AFC East are matched up once more.

Of course, while it may not be likely, the possibility of these teams finding each other in another Super Bowl before then is hardly off the table. It is the NFL, after all.

More Seahawks Wire stories

Seahawks survive, defeat Patriots 23-20 in overtime

Geno Smith became the Seahawks' No. 5 leading passer of all time

5 Studs and 2 Duds from Seattle’s overtime win against New England

Seahawks sit alone in 1st place in the NFC West

5 takeaways from Seahawks’ Week 2 victory

This article originally appeared on Seahawks Wire: Seahawks vs Patriots Round 4 did not feature more goal line heroics