AP photo New England Patriots quarterback Cam Newton comes down on his back after he was stopped near the goal line as the clock expires in the fourth quarter Sunday night for a 35-30 Seahawks victory.

The disappointment for the New England Patriots on Sunday night was clearly evident and understandable.

The optimism should be, too.

Yes, the Patriots lost a tough 35-30 contest at Seattle. They allowed Russell Wilson to throw five touchdown passes and let the game get away from them until it was just one play too late.

On the flip side, however, they lost to perhaps the best quarterback they will face all season. They were one successful quarterback run by Cam Newton away from completing a Tom Brady-like comeback – but with Newton at the helm. This is not a team that will give up easily.

“You also have got to look at the men in the locker room, our locker room, and we learned a lot from these guys,” Patriots receiver Julian Edelman said. “We’re down two scores with four minutes to go, across the country against a really good football team.

“We knew it was going to come down to the last play; we kept on saying that this whole week. And it literally came to the last play and they got us. But I’m really proud of how we fought as a team.”

Newton threw the ball 44 times, or 25 more times than the opening win over the Dolphins. Sometimes it’s necessary when you’re behind, but the Patriots probably don’t want that many passes with the receivers not yet quite reliable. Edelman will still be his main target in crunch time, as he had eight catches Sunday night for a whopping 179 yards.

But can Edelman keep that pace up? He can’t continue to take the physical pounding, not at age 34. Can Newton continue to hold up physically each game with double figures in carries?

Newton’s value is his versatility; he established his passing game on Sunday night, throwing for 397 yards. And the Patriots showed how important he is to want the ball in his hands on the final play, albeit an unsuccessful one. But no real second guessing; Newton’s short yardage red zone runs had worked all game.

“It’s humbling to have the respect of the team, to have the ball in my hands,” Newton said. “I could have made it right by just bouncing it (to the outside) …I’ll definitely learn from this. If put in that situation again, hopefully we can have a better outcome.”

“I thought our team competed hard,” Belichick said. ” we got down to the 1-yard line, and Seattle made a good play. … We had one play to score, and we had what we felt was our best play. What else is there to think about?”

The Patriots actually outgained the Seahawks – 464-429 – but unlike the win over Miami, they rushed for just 67 yards. Again, it’s all about matchups, and with Seattle’s secondary somewhat depleted during the game with injuries and an ejection, the Patriots attacked via the air. That is what good teams do.

Once again, defensive end/linebacker Chase Winovich showed he has made strides between years one and two to be a significant factor. It seems he’ll have to be – New England is predictably thin at linebacker. We’ll see how that continues to develop.

But remember, they won’t face a Russell Wilson every week. This week, if he got through Monday’s game vs. New Orleans unscathed and healthy, Derek Carr comes to Foxborough and it won’t be the same threat as a Wilson.

“He just throws a good ball; it

‘s not bad coverage, we had guys all over the receiver,” Patriots safety Devin McCourty said of Wilson. “He does a good job putting the ball where only the receiver can catch it. …

“Sometimes in this league a good throw or catch beats good coverage.”

The Patriots experienced an emotional week with the passing of Belichick’s mother, and than got the incredibly rough news on the tragic death of veteran back James White’s father.

“Just devastating. It’s been a rough year,” McCourty said. “There’s no words you can say, nothing you can do in that situation. We just wanted to go out and play our hearts out for him.”

Yet the Patriots, as they always do, channeled their emotion and the surrounding elements. We saw a huge quality Sunday night in this team.

“Just the fight. We’ve got a group of guys that are going to continue to fight,” McCourty said. “….We had to keep believing, keep fighting to stay in it. We’ve got a good football team. … We just didn’t execute and finish the way we wanted to.

“When you play good football teams, that’s what it comes down to . It’s just a few plays, either you make it or they make it.”

After what we saw on Sunday night, you have to believe the Patriots will make those plays more than the majority of their opponents.

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