The Seattle Seahawks play their first road game of the year tomorrow when they travel cross-country to face the New England Patriots. While this current Pats team is not as formidable as the dynasty they had going for much of the last 25 years, New England does represent some unique challenges.
Here are several things we will be watching for on Sunday morning (kickoff is 10:00 a.m. Pacific time).
Seahawks, Patriots both tough defensively
The first thing to know about this game is if you can’t appreciate good defense you’re probably not going to have a fun time. Forget about seeing a shootout between Geno Smith and Jacoby Brissett, because it’s just not happening.
By most advanced metrics Seattle has the best defense in the NFL this season. Meanwhile, New England also got off to a strong start defensively, holding Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals to just 10 points in an upset win to begin their season. Rookie head coach Jerod Mayo is even using some of the simulated pressure concepts that Mike Macdonald did last season in Baltimore. Expect a low-scoring, defensive slugfest.
Anthony Bradford: The weakest link?
Another reason to expect a defense-heavy affair is that both teams’ offensive lines got off to a bad start this season. The Patriots rank in the bottom six in the league in PFF’s run blocking and pass blocking grades. Meanwhile, the Seahawks were overwhelmed in Week 1 by Denver’s pressure game and had no choice but to run the ball to get anything going.
Expect both teams to exploit those weaknesses up front, and for Seattle that means we may see right guard Anthony Bradford getting picked on quite a bit. Bradford was the lowest-graded lineman for the Seahawks last season and was also the worst in Week 1, his mark getting dragged down by a lethal 30.9 grade in pass protection. If Bradford bombs, we may get to see rookie Christian Haynes take some real snaps. He saw just five last week total, and only one on offense.
The Zach Charbonnet show
With the pass blocking expected to be an issue for the second straight week, look for the Seahawks to rely even more on the run. That won’t be easy, though since their best running back is likely going to miss this week.
Starter Ken Walker is listed as doubtful, which means Zach Charbonnet may see his first start at this level. A second-round draft pick out of UCLA last year, Charbonnet has a big, powerful frame (6-foot-1, 214 pounds) but is lacking Walker’s elusiveness. This will be a crucial test for Charbonnet against a Patriots defense that only allowed 70 rushing yards total in Week 1, the third-fewest in the league.