The Seattle Seahawks will welcome old nemesis New England Patriots at CenturyLink Field in Week 2’s Sunday Night Football special. Both teams are coming off wins, but only one can get past this week unscathed. Check out our preview of this game below.
Patriots fans have to get used to seeing their starting quarterback rushing for touchdowns. After having Tom Bray operate in the pocket for so long, the Patriots now have a completely different weapon at the quarterback slot with the athletic Cam Newton running the show, figuratively and quite literally. In Week 1, Newton went just 15-of-19 for 155 passing yards but paced his team with 75 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries in a 21-11 home win over the Miami Dolphins. However, head coach Bill Belichick might want to see Newton throw more this time around to diversify the offense a bit against a much better Seattle defense. Last week, the Seahawks allowed 506 total yards to the Atlanta Falcons, who didn’t have much going on the ground. Newton and the Patriots present a more balanced two-pronged attack thru the air and the ground for Seattle.
The Patriots are 6-3 against the spread in their last nine road games.
Russell Wilson and the Seahawks got the job done in Week 1, as they defeated the Falcons on the road, 38-25. Wilson threw for 322 yards and four touchdowns on 31-of-35 completions and also rushed for 29 yards on three carries. The Seahawks do seem to have a better set of receivers than the Patriots, with the likes of DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, and pass-catching tailback Chris Carson as his main targets. Carson had two receiving touchdowns against the Falcons, while Metcalf and Greg Olsen each had one. Metcalf’s size could be a matchup problem even for New England’s talented defenders on its secondary, and that could open things up for the other Seattle receivers. As for Seattle’s defense, Jamal Adams can’t wait to meet the Patriots again. The former New York Jets star had 12 total tackles (eight solo tackles) and a sack in the win over the Falcons.
The over is 6-3-1 in the Seahawks’ last 10 home games.
