Game Predictions: Seattle Seahawks Week 2 vs. New England Patriots

The Seattle Seahawks are heading to Foxborough to face the New England Patriots on the heels of a Week 1 victory. Can they get to 2-0?

Sep 20, 2020; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Tyler Lockett (16) catches a touchdown pass against the New England Patriots during the first quarter at CenturyLink Field. / Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images

Even though the Seattle Seahawks have won their last two games against the New England Patriots, the bad blood created by Super Bowl XLIX's dramatic end always tends to resurface whenever these two teams get together.

Better yet: Both teams are 1-0 and coming off dominant defensive performances in Week 1 — a trend that could roll over into Week 2. Each team also has a first-time head coach looking to begin their tenures with a pair of wins.

New England's last win over Seattle was in the Super Bowl, and they haven't beat the Seahawks in the regular season since Dec. 7, 2008. Seattle's last win in Foxborough was on Nov. 13, 2016. These teams don't play each other very often.

As Seattle heads to the East Coast, our writing staff has a few predictions and players to watch in the Seahawks' Week 2 road game versus the New England Patriots. Kickoff is at 10 a.m. PT on Sunday.

Predictions for Week 2

After overcoming an ugly start on offense to win their season opener, the Seahawks will likely find themselves in another low-scoring, physical slog against the Patriots, who want to play a similar blue collar style on defense behind the leadership of new coach Jerod Mayo. Both teams have offensive line concerns coming into this game with Seattle likely to be without right tackle George Fant and New England already ruling out left guard Sidy Sow, creating potential areas of exploitation for both defensive lines to capitalize on.

Even without Sow last week, however, the Patriots ran all over the Bengals behind Rhamondre Stevenson, who pounded his way through a vulnerable defense with 118 rushing yards after contact. The Seahawks tackled really well last week against the Broncos, but with linebackers Tyrel Dodson and Jerome Baker both being listed as questionable heading into Sunday due to injury, there's a chance one or both players won't suit up, which would put a ton of pressure on rookie Tyrice Knight and/or Drake Thomas to pick up the slack dealing with a battering ram out of the backfield.

With that said, the Seahawks have a number of advantages that should work in their favor in this game. For one, the Patriots have yet to show they can stretch the field with their passing attack, as veteran Jacoby Brissett barely averaged over five yards per attempt last week and attempted just one pass that traveled more than 20 yards through the air. New England also didn't have to deal with Tee Higgins last week and JaMarr Chase looked like a shell of his usual self, so DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, and Jaxon Smith-Njigba should be a more formidable trio for Mayo's secondary.

Ultimately, this looks primed to be a lower scoring affair with both teams throwing haymakers early. But even without Ken Walker III in the backfield, Seattle simply has more talent on both sides of the football and the superior quarterback in Geno Smith, which should lend itself to the team pulling away in the second half to grind out a double-digit victory on the road. Look for Smith to throw for 275 yards and a pair of touchdowns to Metcalf and Noah Fant, while the pass rush will come to life sacking Brissett four times and recover a fumble in New England territory with Stevenson being limited to under 90 rushing yards. -Corbin Smith

Corbin's Pick to Click: Boye Mafe

Aside from Sow not starting for the second straight week, Vederian Lowe will be starting at left tackle after checking back into the lineup early last week. The veteran tackle gave up six sacks and nearly 40 pressures a year ago, per Pro Football Focus, and allowed three pressures in limited action last week. Far from a polished pass protector, especially with a practice squad guard in Michael Jordan playing next to him, Mafe should be licking his chops after tallying nine pressures and a sack last week. Expect Macdonald and his staff to game plan to feature Mafe on that side of the ball to take advantage of a lopsided matchup with the goal of making life challenging for Brissett from the outset.

Corbin's Prediction: Seahawks 23, Patriots 13

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This will be another game won or lost in the trenches. Seattle must stop New England's rushing attack led by Rhamondre Stevenson and fluster quarterback Jacoby Brissett. The Seahawks' offensive line will need to limit a Patriots pass rush that sacked Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow three times in Week 1 and allowed 55 rushing yards on 12 carries to running backs.

But that's just the tip of the defensive iceberg in this game. Both defenses have the potential to be top-10 units this season based on what they showed last week. Seattle received the highest coverage grade as a team (92.7), per Pro Football Focus, and was the top-rated defense overall (91.0). The Patriots' offense ranked 22nd in the NFL in Week 1, per PFF.

Seattle's offense has the biggest opportunity to swing this game. If it can establish the run game with backup running back Zach Charbonnet and scheme wide receivers DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett and Jaxon Smith-Njigba open, there's a good chance New England's offense won't score enough points to keep up. However, once again, Geno Smith must stay upright and have time to operate if the offense is to fire on all cylinders. That was an issue in the first half last week, and Seattle scored nine points and gave the Denver Broncos four in the first 30 minutes as a result.

After last week's struggles, this feels like the game Smith finds his rhythm. He completes 25 or more passes for north of 250 yards and two touchdowns — one of which goes to Smith-Njigba. Zach Charbonnet rushes for 70 yards and another touchdown. Defensively, Seattle's defense sacks Brissett three times and forces an interception on a shot play (Brissett was bad throwing more than 10 yards downfield versus Cincinnati). However, Stevenson rushes for at least 90 yards and a touchdown. The Seahawks win a close one to reach 2-0. - Connor Benintendi

Connor's Pick to Click: DL Leonard Williams

Leonard Williams is due for a big game. He was disruptive in Week 1, totaling two tackles and four quarterback hits, but didn't register a sack. Williams' six total pressures also tied for the league lead among interior defensive linemen, per PFF, even though he blurs that line with his versatility. The Patriots will be without starting left guard Sidy Sow, and they allowed 13 pressures to an inferior defensive front in the Cincinnati Bengals. Williams should be a huge factor for the Seahawks.

Connor's Score Prediction: Seahawks 23, Patriots 16