The Patriots have been one of the most aggressive defenses in the playoffs and I would expect that to continue this week. If they want to win this game, they are going to need to blitz Sam Darnold, early and often. Not only do they need to pressure him, but they need to be willing to bring 5, 6 and 7 man pressures on a consistent basis. Mike Vrabel and his defensive staff cannot overthink it. Show Darnold a look and get after him.

It won’t be easy with the amount of compressed formations, play-action and 12 personnel the Seahawks use. They will make it tough to blitz them but the Patriots have to because they cannot allow Darnold to get comfortable. Darnold will force the ball from the pocket and turn it over. He led the NFL in turnovers. The more the Patriots get in his face, the better.

The toughest thing to deal with for the Patriots will be the Seahawks formations and when they go into 12 personnel specifically, a personnel grouping that can be tough to deal with from a defensive perspective. Factor in the compressed formations and the Seahawks are tough to defend.

Sam Darnold has completed 61 of 82 passes for 1,104 yards and six touchdowns out of 12 personnel when faced with base defense this season, translating to a league-high 13.5 yards per attempt, nearly twice as many as the NFL average (7.5). All the more reason to bring pressure on a consistent basis and throw him off his spot.

The Seahawks also utilize a fair amount of 21 personnel with fullback Robbie Outzs entering the game but with Zack Charbonnet out of this game, I think you will see more of a balance between 21 and 11 personnel as they try to play the match up game against the Patriots.

The Patriots will see all of these personnel groupings and they will have pressure packages drawn up against all of them, including pressure checks on the field.

Here are some ways the Patriots could pressure this diverse Seahawks offense.

5 Man Pressures

Diagrams 1-3: Variations of 5 man pressure with man free coverage: The Patriots have blitzed at the highest rate of any team in the playoffs so I would expect a fair amount of five man pressure, especially when the Seahawks are in 11 personnel. New England is nickel roughly 75% of the time against 11 personnel so it is an easy personnel grouping to bring five against.

6/7 Man Pressures

Diagrams 4-8: All out pressures: The Patriots have played a lot of Cover 0 this season, specifically from a loose alignment. I would expect a fair amount of it in this game. They will get after Darnold, especially if they can get the Seahawks into 3rd and 7 or longer. Seattle is 31st in the NFL at converting in 3rd and long situations. If the Patriots can get them into that down and distance, they can tee off on Darnold on third down with pressures like this.

Bluffs and Sim Pressure

Diagrams 9-11: Bluff Variations: The Patriots like most defenses in the NFL today like to bluff and go or bluff and drop. They will try to force the issue at the line of scrimmage. I would expect them to move around a lot up front and try create some protection confusion and some confusion for Darnold showing pressure and dropping out or showing pressure and matching up in man coverage. Darnold is not a runner so I highly doubt you will see the Patriots use a rat coverage to account for him.

The Patriots defense has been aggressive all season long especially in the playoffs. I do not expect anything to change on Sunday. They will be aggressive in how they attack this Seahawks offense. The question is. Can they hold up on the back end? If their secondary can match up, it could be a long night for Darnold and company.