5 things to know about Sunday’s Seahawks-Patriots game
Both offensive lines might be a bit overwhelmed in Sunday's matchup.
The Patriots have a chance to move to 2-0 on Sunday, something that practically no one thought was possible entering the 2024 season.
Of course, they have to beat the Seahawks first in order to remain undefeated in the young season. Seattle is also 1-0 after defeating the Denver Broncos last week, 26-20.
As the Week 2 matchup nears, here are five things to know about Sunday’s game between certain headlines, key matchups, and fun facts.
The Seahawks will likely be without one of their top playmakers.
Seahawks starting running back Kenneth Walker is listed as doubtful for Sunday’s game with an oblique injury as of Saturday afternoon.
If Walker’s unable to play at all, that would certainly be a blow for Seattle. The third-year back rushed for 1,955 yards on 4.4 yards per carry over his first two seasons. He opened his 2024 season with a bang, rushing for 103 yards on 5.2 yards per carry and a touchdown against the Broncos. He also had a pair of receptions.
Walker’s performance against Denver was much needed. Geno Smith had an unspectacular game, completing 18 of 25 passes for 171 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Zach Charbonnet was even more pedestrian in his role as the Seahawks’ secondary back, rushing for just 12 yards on eight carries.
Charbonnet would likely start at running back for the Seahawks if Walker can’t go on Sunday. While he rushed for 462 yards on 4.3 yards per carry as a rookie, Charbonnet struggled in the two games that he was Seattle’s lead back in 2023. He rushed for 47 yards on 3.4 yards per carry against the 49ers and followed that up with a 60-yard day on 3.2 yards perry against the Cowboys a week later with Walker out.
The Patriots’ run defense was arguably the best in the NFL last season, so Walker’s absence would tip the scales even further toward New England in that regard. New England allowed the fourth-fewest rushing yards and on the fewest yards per carry in 2023. It only gave up 70 rushing yards against Cincinnati last week.
Seattle’s pass protection was below average in 2023 and struggled in Week 1.
If you’re hoping for Keion White to have another standout performance in Week 2, you might be in luck.
The Seahaws’ offensive line has been mostly underwhelming since the start of the 2023 season. Pro Football Focus ranked the group as the 28th-best unit in 2023, sharing that it had the fourth-worst pass-block efficiency last season (239 pressures allowed on 635 dropbacks). Additionally, the Seahawks’ offensive line was 25th in pass-block win rate (53 percent).
Those numbers were even worse against the Broncos in Week 1. Seattle allowed eight pressures on 18 dropbacks (44.4 percent) and a 36 percent pass-block win rate.
The Patriots’ defensive front had a solid showing last week against the Bengals. White had 2.5 sacks while Joshua Uche recorded three pressures, per Pro Football Focus. They had nine pressures total on the Bengals’ 38 dropbacks.
Seattle’s pass rush presents a problem for New England.
Flipping things around, the Seahawks’ defensive front might have a greater mismatch against the Patriots’ offensive line than the other way around.
Seattle recorded 21 pressures on Denver’s 51 dropbacks last week (41.2 percent pressure rate), per PFF. It also had a 45 percent pass-rush win rate.
Last season’s performance would suggest that those numbers aren’t a fluke. The Seahawks’ 36 percent pressure rate last season was the 13th-best mark in the NFL, per Next Gen Stats. They also had a 42 percent pass-rush win rate in 2023.
Seattle had multiple contributors along the defensive line attributed to that high number of pressures last week. Edge rusher Boye Mafe was the most responsible for it, recording a sack and nine pressures, per PFF. Defensive tackle Leonard Williams had five pressures while first-round rookie defensive tackle Byron Murphy also had a pair of pressures.
It hasn’t been a secret that New England’s offensive line has struggled in pass protection over the last couple of seasons. After ranking last in pass-block win rate in 2023, the Patriots only had a 46 percent pass-block win rate in Week 1. They also allowed 11 pressures in 17 true pass sets, according to PFF.
Geno Smith actually has a win against the Patriots, but hasn’t played too well against New England in his career.
Sunday will mark the first time that Smith will face the Patriots as a member of the Seahawks, but he has a win against them in the past.
Smith quarterbacked the Jets to an upset win over the Patriots in Week 7 of the 2013 season, notching a 30-27 win. That game was actually in Smith’s rookie season, with the quarterback throwing for 233 yards, a touchdown, and an interception.
The other three times Smith faced the Patriots came in the 2013 and 2014 seasons. Starting for the Jets in all three games, Smith threw a combined two touchdowns to four interceptions over those three matchups. Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo actually had six tackles in one of those games.
After dealing with injuries over the 2015 and 2016 seasons, Smith had multiple stops before settling in with the Seahawks in 2019. He turned his career around in the 2022 season, leading Seattle to the postseason and won Comeback Player of the Year.
Smith was named a Pro Bowler for the second time in his career in 2023, throwing for 3,624 yards, 20 touchdowns, and nine interceptions with a 92.1 passer rating over 15 games. A far cry from where he was during his seasons with the Jets.
It’s the first time the two teams will meet without Bill Belichick or Pete Carroll on either sideline since 1993.
The last six games between the Patriots and Seahawks have had at least one of Belichick or Carroll involved. That won’t be the case this Sunday, as both teams moved on from their previous head coaches over the offseason
However, it should be noted that the Patriots and Seahawks never met in the three seasons that Carroll was New England’s head coach (1997-99). In fact, the Patriots and Seahawks didn’t face each other at all between the 1994-2003 seasons, which is bizarre considering that the two teams were in the AFC until the 2002 season.
So, Sunday will mark the first time that neither Belichick nor Carroll will be involved in a Patriots-Seahawks game since the 1993 season. The two teams met twice that year, with the Patriot losing both games.
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