3 Matchups to Watch in Patriots' Week 2 Game vs. Seahawks

A battle between two mobile quarterbacks could decide the winner of the Super Bowl XLIX rematch Sunday night.

The last three times the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks faced off, it came down to the final possession.

When they face off Sunday night, however, it will be two very different teams taking the field.

No more Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski, Dont’a Hightower or Patrick Chung for New England. No more Richard Sherman, Marshawn Lynch or Earl Thomas III for Seattle. Even with Russell Wilson, Julian Edelman, Pete Carroll and Bill Belichick still hanging around, it will undoubtedly be a very different game than Super Bowl XLIX.

PatriotMaven is breaking down the three most important matchups before every game all season long, with Sunday’s game against the Seahawks next up on the slate.

Russell Wilson vs. Patriots Secondary

Only time will tell if this will be the case for the entire 2020 season, but in Seattle’s Week 1 win over Atlanta, Carroll let Russell cook.

The Seahawk fanbase’s movement of the same name took place over the offseason and demanded their team to modernize its offense and give Wilson more free reign. In addition to his 322 yards, four touchdowns and 88.6 percent completion percentage through the air, Wilson also posted a team-high 29 rushing yards.

28 of those yards came on one play, so while his legs are still dangerous, it’s Wilson’s arm that poses the biggest threat to the Patriots defense.

The Patriots secondary held the Dolphins to 191 passing yards last week, also intercepting three passes to limit their opponent to 11 total points. That performance, however, came against turnover-prone veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick – who has never had a season with an Approximate Value over 13, while Wilson has never had a single-season Approximate Value under 14.

Wilson has proven to be difficult to contain in the past, and Sunday shouldn’t be any different. If the Patriots’ safeties and corners can stay tight enough in coverage to throw Wilson off his rhythm, New England will have a chance to escape with a road win.

If not, Wilson could continue to build an early MVP resume.

Cam Newton vs. Jamal Adams

While Wilson’s success through the air will heavily rely on how well the Patriots’ secondary plays as a full unit, Newton’s success could come down to the performance of Jamal Adams.

Adams is the type of defender that can literally play all over the field. When he’s playing well, he can turn Sundays into nightmares for opposing offenses.

Especially when he’s going up against a dual-threat, physical quarterback like Newton, Adams is dangerous. Carroll could use Adams as a spy for most of the game, limiting Newton’s efficiency on the ground and preventing him from scrambling on third and fourth downs.

The Seahawks are going to force Newton to throw the ball more than he did last week against the Dolphins, when he only attempted 19 passes for a miniscule 10.3 yards per completion. They can do that by stacking the box and using Adams to follow Newton wherever his legs or eyes go.

Newton and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels will either have to come up with a more creative ground attack, or start taking the top off the defense in order to move the ball at all come Sunday night.

Julian Edelman vs. Marquis Blair

For all of the defensive stars Carroll has at his disposal, he primarily used Blair to match up with Falcons slot receiver Russell Gage last week.

It did not work.

Gage racked up nine catches for 114 yards against Blair and the rest of the bodies Carroll threw at him, both of which were good for career-highs for the third-year receiver out of LSU.

Edelman is 10 years older and two inches shorter than Gage, but he could put up a very similar performance against the Seahawks on Sunday night.

The 11-year veteran racked up a team-high seven targets Week 1 against the Dolphins, leading to five receptions and 57 yards – both of which were also the most on the team. Edelman was primarily guarded by free safety Bobby McCain and cornerback Byron Jones.

The Seahawks could very easily adapt a similar approach to limiting Edelman by throwing some combination of Blair, Quandre Diggs and Quinton Dunbar at him. But if Newton and McDaniels can take advantage of when the inexperienced Blair draws the matchup with Edelman, that could mean good things for the Patriots’ quick passes to the slot.

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