Kickoff: The Seattle Seahawks visit Foxboro for the home opener. The Patriots are coming off of a 16-10 win over the Cincinnati Bengals in week one. Seattle beat the Denver Broncos, 26-20. Former Patriots cornerback Malcolm Butler will perform the keeper of the light duties today and the Super Bowl XLIX team will be honored at halftime on the tenth anniversary of the Super Bowl win over Seattle.
Here are four keys for the Patriots.
1st Down: Keep grounding and pounding: The Patriots rushed for 170 yards last week and look for more of the same this week as they try to take pressure off of Jacoby Brissett and set up their play-action passing game. Running the football will be a recipe for success this season regardless of who the quarterback.
2nd Down: Blitz pick-up: Seahawks coach Mike McDonald is known for utilizing multiple fronts and exotic blitz pressures. The Patriots offensive line will have a lot to deal with today in pass protection. Communication and identification are keys today. The offensive line must be on the same page or it will be a long afternoon.
3rd Down: Front seven must control the line of scrimmage: The Seahawks will be looking to establish their ground game early. The Patriots must control the line of scrimmage defensively and get Seattle into 2nd and long and 3rd and long situations. If they cannot stop the run today, Seattle’s offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb will have everything at his disposal.
4th Down: Make plays in the passing game: The passing game was non-existent last week against the Bengals. The Patriots need to make more plays through the air in this game if they want to win it. Simply filing and dunking isn’t enough.
Extra point: The New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks will meet for the 20th time overall. Seattle leads the all-time regular season series 10-9. It is the first time the two teams are meeting since the Patriots lost 35-30 on Sunday Night Football in 2020. The Patriots last two regular season games against Seattle were both Sunday Night Football games. The Patriots lost 31-24 on Nov. 13, 2016, in the last meeting between the two teams at Gillette Stadium.
Final Drive: When the Patriots schedule was revealed, I thought this was a game they could win and I am sticking to that. Emotions will be running high for the home opener and I think the Patriots get it done in what should be a very competitive game.