WEDNESDAY NIGHT PREVIEW:
NFL PREVIEW: NEW ENGLAND VS. SEATTLE
Regular Season: SEA leads series, 11-8 (SEA won past 4)
Last meeting: SB LX 2/8/26: SEA 29 vs. NE 13
PATRIOTS NOTES:
PATRIOTS ranked 1st in AFC in total offense (379.4) last season. • QB DRAKE MAYE ranked 1st in NFL in comp. pct. (72.0), 1st in passer rating (113.5), 3rd in TD passes (31) & 4th in pass yards (4,394) in 2025. Had 220+ pass yards & pass TD in 7 of his 8 on road last season. Passed for 295 yards & 2 TDs in SB LX meeting. • RB TREVEYON HENDERSON led team in scrimmage yards (1,132) & scrimmage TDs (10) as rookie last season. Had 4 games with 2+ scrimmage TDs in 2025, most among rookies. • RB RHAMONDRE STEVENSON totaled 948 scrimmage yards (603 rush, 345 rec.) & career-high 9 scrimmage TDs (7 rush, 2 rec.) in 2025. Had 81 rush yards & rush TD in last reg. season meeting. • WR A.J. BROWN can make NE debut after totaling 78 receptions for 1,003 yards & 7 TDs with Phi. last season, becoming 5th player ever with 1,000+ rec. yards & 7+ TD catches in 6 of his 1st 7 seasons. Has 95+ rec. yards in 3 of his past 4 on road. Had 5 catches for 56 yards in his last game vs. Sea. (12/18/23 w/ Phi.). • WR ROMEO DOUBS can make NE debut after totaling 55 receptions for 724 yards & 6 TDs with GB last season. Had 2 rec. TDs in his only career game vs. Sea. (12/15/24 w/ GB). • TE HUNTER HENRY set career-high with 768 rec. yards in 2025. Had 8 catches for 109 yards in last reg. season meeting. • LB ROBERT SPILLANE led team with 97 tackles last season. • LB CHRISTIAN ELLIS set career-high with 76 tackles in 2025. • DT MILTON WILLIAMS had 3.5 sacks, 8 TFL & PD in 2025. • S KEVIN BYARD led NFL with 7 INTs in 2025 & had 93 tackles, 4 TFL & 8 PD. • CB CHRISTIAN GONZALEZ set career-high with 69 tackles & had 10 PD last season. Had 4 tackles & 3 PD in SB LX meeting
PATRIOTS GAMEPLAN: 3 KEYS TO VICTORY IN SUPER BOWL REMATCH VS. THE SEAHAWKS
For the first time since the season opener of the 2016 season, the NFL’s opening game will be a Super Bowl rematch between the Patriots and Seahawks in Seattle on Wednesday night.
While the Seahawks will hold a pre-game ceremony to hang their championship banner at Lumen Field, changes on the coaching staff and roster turnover are inevitable in the NFL. The main characters are the same as in Super Bowl LX last February, like the head coaches (Mike Vrabel vs. Mike Macdonald) and starting quarterbacks (Drake Maye vs. Sam Darnold). However, a lot has changed in the seven months between games, especially on Seattle’s side.
As Patriots fans grew familiar with during the dynasty years, the rest of the league poached from the Seahawks coaching staff and roster this offseason. Seattle lost its offensive coordinator, Klint Kubiak, who was replaced by first-time coordinator Brian Fleury after leaving to become the Raiders head coach. The Seahawks also had to make tough decisions about who to keep from their Super Bowl-winning roster. Although they extended the contracts of stars Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Devon Witherspoon, and Leonard Williams, Seattle had to let some talent walk.
Mainly, Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker was Kansas City’s prize free-agent signing. Walker has been replaced by first-round RB Jadarian Price. Seattle also lost starting CB Riq Woolen, starting safety Coby Bryant, and rotational edge rusher Boye Mafe in free agency. The Seahawks feel they have an in-house replacement in CB Josh Jobe for Woolen and have an embarrassment of riches at edge rusher but this is what happens when you’re the reigning champs – the other 31 teams chip away at your depth.
As for the Patriots, Vrabel’s coaching staff remains intact from last year’s run to the Super Bowl, with coordinators Josh McDaniels (offense) and Zak Kuhr (defense) returning. However, New England took a big swing by swapping top receivers Stefon Diggs and Kayshon Boutte for star WR A.J. Brown and free-agent addition Romeo Doubs, hoping the Brown-Doubs duo will elevate the offense’s level of play against elite competition. The Pats also made tweaks to the offensive line and signed veteran S Kevin Byard III, who led the NFL in interceptions in 2025.
Ultimately, the Seahawks will celebrate the Super Bowl LX championship one last time in Seattle and winning the season-opener doesn’t mean the Lombardi Trophy changes hands on Wednesday night. Still, the Patriots, who played arguably their worst game of the season on the biggest stage and have been hearing that they were schedule merchants in 2025, would certainly make a statement by ruining banner night in a Week 1 trip to Seattle – revenge would be a sweet way for New England to start its 2026 season.
Let’s preview the chess match in a Super Bowl LX rematch between the Patriots and Seahawks at Lumen Field at 8:20 p.m. ET on Wednesday night in Seattle.
Offense Key: Have Better Answers to Seattle’s Blitzes and Capitalize on Opportunities
As we all remember too well, the Seahawks defense decisively controlled the game the last time the Patriots played Seattle in Super Bowl LX back in February.
Along with forcing three second-half turnovers to put the game away, Seattle’s defense held Patriots QB Drake Maye to a season-low -0.44 expected points added per drop-back with six sacks (season high) and a season-worst 52.8% pressure rate. For the MVP runner-up and the league leader in pass EPA during the regular season, the Super Bowl was an unfortunate time for New England to have its worst performance.
After rewatching the Super Bowl film, the silver lining was that the Patriots offense had several missed opportunities. Yes, it’s easy to sit on my couch and say, “he’s open, he’s open, and he’s open” when you’re not standing in the pocket facing a live pass rush. But the point of the cutup above, which has over a minute of missed opportunities the Patriots can capitalize on with better execution, is that the Seahawks defense is beatable. If it were me, I’d remind Maye of these throws that he hit all year being open on tape.
That said, we can’t discuss any fancy schemes that the Patriots offense can run vs. the Seahawks defense before talking about handling pressure. The bottom line for the Pats offense is that they must protect Maye better and have more answers to beat Seattle’s exotic pressure schemes, or the rest becomes a moot point.
The Patriots took the loss in the Super Bowl, and frankly the entire playoffs, as a signal that their offensive line was still a work in progress. New England signed free-agent G Alijah Vera-Tucker to play left guard between LT Will Campbell and C Jared Wilson, with the 2025 third-rounder moving to his natural position. The analysis coming out of the Super Bowl centered on Macdonald’s creative blitzing but five of Seattle’s six sacks came from standard four-man rushes, while the Seahawks posted a 43.5% pressure rate with a four-man rush. If the Patriots don’t block Seattle’s pass rush better, it’s hard to envision a different result.
As for the Seahawks base coverage schemes, Seattle majored in cover-three (10 drop-backs) and cover six (eight drop-backs) before spamming cover six in the fourth quarter (14 drop-backs). The Seahawks played soft quarter-quarter-half zones (cover six) with the lead in the fourth quarter, which inflated the coverage rate last February but the real game-changing downs came from their well-timed blitzes. Although they only blitzed on 13.2% of Maye’s drop-backs, the Seahawks were highly effective when blitzing. Seattle’s blitzes hit at an insane 85.7% pressure rate while Seattle’s game-icing pick-six in the fourth quarter came on their overload nickel pressure that they ran several times. To me, beating the Seahawks pressures is more mental than physical: it was less on the blocking execution and more on not having a sound pressure plan.
SERIES HISTORY
The New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks will meet in the season-opener in a rematch of Super Bowl LX, where New England fell, 29-13, on Feb. 8, 2026 in Santa Clara, Calif. The Patriots will look to snap a four-game losing streak overall to Seattle. Since 2000, Seattle is the only team that has a winning record against New England with a 4-2 mark. The Patriots have a .500 record against Green Bay, Kansas City and San Francisco and a winning record against everybody else during that time frame.
This week will be the 22nd overall meeting between the two teams. Seattle leads the all-time series 12-9. The Patriots have lost the last three regular season meetings, most recently a 23-20 overtime loss in Week 2 of the 2024 season on Sept. 15 at Gillette Stadium.
Seattle joins San Francisco and Philadelphia as the only teams to have a winning record against New England at Gillette Stadium.
QUICK HITS
The Seahawks are one of two the non-divisional teams that the Patriots have played twice in the regular season in the same year. That scheduling oddity with Seattle took place during the 1993 season, the only year in which the league’s 16-game schedule was played over an 18-week span and each team was allotted two bye weeks. The Patriots also played Denver two times in the 1991 season.
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SEAHAWKS NOTES:
SEAHAWKS won Super Bowl LX in 2025 with 29-13 victory over NE. • HC MIKE MACDONALD became 3rd-youngest head coach (38 years, 227 days) to win Super Bowl & 1st head coach under age of 40 to win 17 games in season, including playoffs, in NFL history. • QB SAM DARNOLD became 4th QB ever to win Super Bowl in his 1st season with team, joining Tom Brady, Trent Dilfer & Matthew Stafford. Became 5th QB all-time to record 13+ wins in consecutive seasons & 1st to do so with different teams (Min. in 2024). Ranked 5th with 4,048 pass yards in 2025. Has TD pass in 4 of his last 5 in primetime. • RB JADARIAN PRICE can make NFL debut after being selected No. 32 overall in 2026 NFL Draft. • WR JAXON SMITH-NJIGBA led NFL with career-high & franchise-record 1,793 rec. yards, ranked 4th with 119 receptions & tied-6th with 10 TD catches in 2025. Can become 4th player all-time with 100+ receptions in 3 of his 1st 4 career seasons, joining Brandon Marshall, Amon-Ra St. Brown & Michael Thomas. Aims for 6th in row on primetime with 75+ rec. yards. • TE AJ BARNER had career-high 52 receptions for 519 yards & 6 TDs in 2025. Recorded 4 catches for 54 yards & TD in Super Bowl LX. • DT LEONARD WILLIAMS recorded 7 sacks, 9 TFL & PD in 2025. • DT BYRON MURPHY II had career-high 7 sacks last season & recorded 2 sacks & FR in Super Bowl LX. • LB DEMARCUS LAWRENCE ranked tied-1st with 3 FRs & tied-7th with 3 FFs in 2025. Ranks tied-5th with 24 FF since 2014. • LB ERNEST JONES IV ranked tied-2nd with career-high 5 INTs in 2025. • CB DEVON WITHERSPOON had 72 tackles, 7 PD & INT in 2025. • S JULIAN LOVE had 6 PD & INT in 2025. Recorded INT in Super Bowl LX. • S NICK EMMANWORI co-led all rookies last season with 11 PD & had INT.
he focus is now on the Seattle Seahawks, the defending Super Bowl Champions. The Seahawks easily dispatched the Patriots in the Super Bowl and open the new NFL season with a marquee matchup on Wednesday night before a national audience. This game features a rematch of the Super Bowl. Seattle will be raising their banner in front of their rabid 12th man crowd.
Coaching accounted for a ton of success in Seattle, more than probably most successful teams that have won a Super Bowl in recent memory. Mike Macdonald did an outstanding job with the offense, because that is where most of the magic needed to happen to elevate a below-average roster. First, let’s take a step back to the spring of 2025. After three straight winning seasons, the Seahawks did something close to unthinkable. They blew up the offense.
The Seahawks were very healthy last year, even healthier than the Pats. Sam Darnold and Jaxon Smith-Njigba played all 17 games. Walker left in Free Agency, and Zack Chabonnet has not yet recovered from his ACL knee injury. They will be starting 1st-round pick rookie Jadarian Price out of Notre Dame.
The biggest loss may be that of losing Offensive Coordinator Klint Kubiak. “The Seahawks did lose their offensive coordinator, Klint Kubiak, who left to become the Las Vegas Raiders’ head coach. Brian Fleury replaces him after spending the past seven seasons with the San Francisco 49ers. He served as run game coordinator and tight ends coach in his final year,” wrote Pro Football Focus’ Gordon McGuiness.
Darnold was a retread QB with a 35-38 career record after washing out of every prior stop on his journey. And that in 2025, Darnold would lead the league in turnovers, with:
The #2 most interceptions of any player…
The #1 most fumbles of any player…
The #2 most fumbles lost of any player…
His total of 20 turnovers: #1 most turnovers of any player in 2025 (20)
#1 most EPA lost of any player in 2025 (-100.2)
Darnold wasn’t great in the Super Bowl. He was 19/38 (50%) for 202 yards a TD and a 53 QBR. JSN was held to 4 catches for 27 yards (1 catch against Gonzo).
The Seahawks won the Super Bowl by running the ball down our throats with zone runs. They attacked our EDGEs (Chaisson and Jennings) and gashed us to make it 3rd and short almost every series. Not having Walker is a big blow. Seattle didn’t play any of their starters in the preseason games (that sounds familiar). We don’t have any idea how Price will perform.
Price was electric per touch in college at Notre Dame, averaging more than 6.0 yards in all three of his college seasons. He forced a missed tackle on a class-high 26.9% of his touches. On one hand, there are far worse things than saying, “Well, Price was just not as good as Jeremiyah Love, and that’s why he was limited.” On the other hand, it still leaves us with some guesswork, since we do not see many backs with such light collegiate workloads selected highly in the NFL. Price has just 295 touches on his college resume. That is the fewest touches for any first-round running back in the 2000s – Warren Sharp
George Holani will serve as RB2.
JSN versus Gonzo is a primetime matchup worth watching. Smith-Njigba was uncoverable last year before the Super Bowl. Rashid Shaheen is a big-play wideout. Cooper Kupp is reliable when healthy. Last season he had 47 catches for 593 yards and 2 TDs. However, Kupp is now 33 and on the back nine of his career.
The Tight Ends are led by AJ Barner. He led the TEs with 52 catches on 68 targets for 519 yards and 6 TDs. Elijah Arroyo came in as a highly touted rookie 2nd-round pick out of Miami last year. Arroyo was targeted 26 times with 15 catches for 179 yards, 11.9 YPC, and no TDs.
The Offensive line is a veteran group and has jumped into a top-10 ranking before the season starts. Three of the five starters played all 20 games last year, and Darnold was pressured on just 21% of his dropbacks. LT Charles Cross was a 2022 1st-round selection (#9) to anchor their Left Side. The 25-year-old’s PFF Grade was 73.2, 30/89 OTs last year. LG Grey Zabel had a good rookie season last season. The 6’6”, 305-pound Guard from North Dakota State was the Seahawks ‘ 1st-round selection (#18) in 2025. His PFF Grade was 57.2, 51/81amongst Guards. At center, Jalen Sundell has solidified the position. The 6’5”, 300-pound UDFA from 2024 played at North Dakota State with Grey Zabel. His PFF Grade was 64.1, 19/ 41 Centers in 2025.
RG Anthony Bradford is a massive 6’5”, 332-pound Guard. The 25-year-old played at LSU. He was the Seahawks ‘ 4th-round (109) selection in 2023. His PFF Grade was 50.6, 70/81 amongst Guards. Right Tackle is Abraham Lucas. The 6’6”, 315-pound Washington State OT is 27, entering his 5th year in the league. He was selected in the 3rd round (#72) of the 2022 Draft. His PFF Grade was 75.5, 24/89 among tackles. All five linemen are 27 or younger. That’s draft and develop, and they used high draft capital to do it.
Defense
Base 3-4
We all know what a great coach McDonald is on Defense with their Big Nickel, 3 Safety Defense. If we’re being honest, the defense clearly carried the offense to the Super Bowl and won it for Seattle. The Patriots had 78 TOTAL YARDS through three quarters with 0 points and one total drive (out of 10) that even crossed midfield. That drive ended on the Seahawks’ 44-yard line. Seattle allowed the third-lowest EPA per play of any Super Bowl defense in the modern era.
The Defense was 1st against the run, giving up just 3.5 Yards per Carry. Leonard Williams is a monster at LDE. He 6’ 5”, 310-pound End was the 1st round (#6) selection of the Jets in 2015. Entering his 12th season, Williams is a 3 x Pro Bowl and an All-Pro selection. Seattle just signed him to a three-year extension with $60M of new money. His PFF grade was 75.3, good for 11/134 among DTs. Byron Murphy played very well last year. The 6’1”, 305-pound NT from Texas went on to have 62 Tackles and 7 Sacks from the NT position. He was a former 1st-round selection (#16) in the 2024 Draft by Seattle. Murphy’s Grade was 72.4. 25/134. Jarran Reed is the RDE. The 6’3”, 315-pound lineman played at Alabama. The 33-year-old was drafted in the 2016 Draft, 2nd round (49th). This is Reed’s second stint with Seattle.
On the EDGE is Demarcus Lawrence, formerly of Dallas. The 6’3”, 265-pound DE came to Seattle via trade. The former Boise State Bronco finished with a PFF Grade of 82.9, 13th/115 Defensive Ends. Uchenna Nwosu is the other DE. The 6’2”, 251-pound End played at USC. Nwosu was selected in the 2018 2nd round (48) by the LA Chargers. His PFF Grade was 60.4, 80th/ 115. The Seahawks lost Boye Mafi in Free Agency, and that could be a big loss.
At one of the Inside LBs is Drake Thomas, a 6’ 223-pound LB from NC State. He was an UDFA signed by Las Vegas in 23. His PFF Grade was 73, 23rd /88 LBs. Thomas has come out of nowhere to be an effective defensive player. Earnest Jones is the other ILB. Jones is 6’2”, 230 pounds. Out of South Carolina. He was selected in the 2021 draft in the 3rd round, 104) by the LA Rams. His PFF Grade was 58.8, 50th /88 LBs.
The secondary is led by Devon Witherspoon, who just signed a massive contract, resetting the defensive back market ahead of the Patriots’ Christian Gonzalez. The 5’11”, 181-pound CB played at Illinois. He was drafted in 2023, 1st round (#5). His PFF Grade last season was 89.9, 1st / 114 CBs.
Witherspoon was a 2nd Team All-Pro in 2025 and a 3x Pro Bowl player. Ty Okada is the S who is replacing Cobee Bryant, whom the Seahawks lost in Free Agency. The 5’11” 185-pound S played at Montana State and was a UDFA in 2023. His PFF grade was 73, 17th / 98 Safeties. Julian Love is the other Safety. The 5’11”, 195-pound safety played at Notre Dame. He was selected in the 4th round (108th overall) in 2019. His 82.2 PFF Grade was 6th /98 Safeties in 2025. Love was selected to the Pro Bowl in 2023. Josh Jobe has been elevated to replace Riq Woolen, whom they lost in Free Agency. Jobe is 5’11”, 191 pounds, and played at Alabama. He went undrafted in 2022 and was signed by Philadelphia. His PFF Grade last season was 56.6 81st / 114 CBs. He is the weak link in their secondary.
Nick Emmanawori had a terrific rookie season last year. Mike Macdonald used Emmanwori as a hybrid Linebacker / Safety in a Big Nickel alignment. This allowed the Seahawks to play a 2 Deep safety alignment. The Blitz packages they dialed up put pressure on the QB. Emmanwori is hurt and is unlikely to play in the game Wednesday. The 6’3” 227-pound Safety played at South Carolina and was a 2025 2nd-round selection (35). His PGG grade was 71, 21st / 98 Safeties. If he can’t go, the Seahawks don’t have another Safety on their 53-man roster. They will have to elevate one of four Safeties they have on their Practice Squad (D’Anthony Bell, AJ Finley, Maxem Hook, or Rodney Thomas. This could change everything for the Seahawks Defense.
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