Preview and prediction for week 2: Seahawks at Patriots

The Seattle Seahawks want to continue their winning streak in this young season in Week 2. However, they have to earn the win in Foxboro against the defensively strong New England Patriots.

New England was one of the worst teams in football last season, and that led to the team finally saying goodbye to the legendary Bill Belichick. In his place is a former Belichick player, linebacker Jerod Mayo, who is enjoying his first head coaching job. That's right, Week 2 is a showdown between two young, defensive-minded rookie head coaches. The aforementioned Belichick and Pete Carroll are gone. A new era is dawning for the teams that play in the two cities along I-90.

Like the Seahawks in many of the last few seasons, the media has seemingly written off New England. The Patriots may not be playoff-ready this year, but that doesn't mean they'll be a bad team. The assumption that this New England team won't be competitive is pretty foolish in my opinion. They're bolstered by a solid defense that will surely ruin many offensive players' days (see: Cincinnati Bengals in Week 1) and led by a veteran quarterback in Jacoby Brissett. The veteran backup probably won't get a Pro Bowl nomination this year, but Brissett is more than capable of effectively leading an offensive player to victory. New England will win games by dragging other teams through the dirt with him.

All of this means that the Seahawks will be involved in a fierce battle this weekend. The Patriots' defensive line is sure to cause problems for Seattle's weakened offensive line. Sunday also marks the 10th anniversary of New England's triumph over the Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX, so you can be sure that the Patriots' ring-wearing head coach, who was a player on that championship team himself, will be there to cheer his team on in front of the home crowd.

But as dominant as New England's defense was last week, the Seahawks' defense was just as stifling. When the Broncos weren't literally being given the ball in Seattle's red zone or getting gifted points from the safeties, they only scored 10 points…that's the total the Patriots were able to hold off the Bengals on the field. The Broncos may have a watergun offense, but New England doesn't have a high-powered unit, either.

As for the Seahawks offense versus the Patriots defense, they are better positioned than expected. Yes, Cincinnati has the edge at the quarterback position. Joe Burrow and wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase are among the best in the entire league at their positions. But Seattle has more talent than the Bengals at every position. Plus, Cincinnati always starts slow and has had an offseason filled with contract negotiation drama, injuries, and even illness. The Seahawks will be a better opponent for the Patriots.

The key to this game is whether Seattle can get their running game going. The absence of Kenneth Walker is a blow and it remains to be seen if they can absorb his loss. Zach Charbonnet, Kenny McIntosh and perhaps George Holani will have to carry the load. If the Seahawks can continue to run the ball effectively, sustain offense and keep scoring points, they should be able to leave Foxboro with a win. If not and Geno Smith faces multiple 3rd-and-longs, it could be another tough outing like we saw in the first half last week.

Prediction: Seahawks vs Patriots 17-13

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