SEAHAWKS (5-2-1) VS. PATRIOTS (7-1)
SUNDAY, 8:30 P.M., GILLETTE STADIUM, FOXBOROUGH, MASS. uTV: NBC
Announcers: Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth, Michele Tafoya
About the Seahawks: It’s been a season of attrition for Seattle, with several prominent starters missing games and others limited by injuries. S missed his fourth consecutive game Monday night with a groin injury, and DE and RB
also were sidelined. Coach hopes all three will be back for Sunday’s rematch of Super Bowl XLIX. QB
has been hampered by ankle, knee and chest muscle injuries, and Carroll seriously considered sitting him, but Wilson would have none of it. “There was no chance I wasn’t playing,” Wilson said. “That was kind of my thought process.” Wilson’s injuries resulted in a drastic reduction in carries, limiting him to 54 rushing yards and a 1.9 yards-percarry average, nearly 4 yards per carry below his career average. A year after throwing 34 touchdown passes in 2015, he has seven.
The return of offensive line coach after a two-year retirement, along with fewer injuries, have contributed to the Patriots’ hot first half. Last year, injuries and inexperience forced New England to use more than 30 line combinations, and it caught up with them in the AFC Championship Game when the Denver Broncos hit QB more than he had ever been hit before in a game. Scarnecchia has helped improve blocking techniques. It also has helped that he hasn’t had to do as much juggling because the unit has been relatively healthy. The Patriots defense has improved to the point that coach believed LB Jamie Collins was expendable, dealing him Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski has scored three TDs in the last four games.
to the Cleveland Browns for a compensatory third-round draft pick in 2017. DT
a 10-year journeyman, has enjoyed a solid season, helping the Patriots stuff the run.
At 39, Brady is playing as well as he ever has. Showing no ill effects from his fourgame suspension, he has completed 73% of his passes and is averaging 329.8 yards and three touchdowns per game. He has yet to throw an
WHO WILL WIN AND WHY
interception. Should Seattle have Chancellor and Bennett back, Brady will face his stiffest test of the season against a defense allowing 16.8 points per game.
Nobody was happier to see Brady back than the Gronk, who has 21 catches for 473 yards and three scores in the past four games.
That’s the completion percentage by Brady on passes that travel more than 20 yards in the air. Not only is that second best in the NFL, but it’s also nearly 24% above Brady’s average last season. Brady’s four TDs from that distance or longer in 2016 equals his total from his 26 games before this season.
KEYS TO THE GAME
1. Pressure Brady: The formula is the same for all quarterbacks, even the great ones. Hit ’em and get them off their mark, and they’ll struggle. The Seahawks have the cover guys to buy their pass rushers time. For-
mer Chicago Bears standout
gives Belichick the kind of tight end combo he hasn’t had since he paired Gronkowski with Aaron Hernandez. If Seattle pays too much attention to Gronk, Bennett could benefit.
3. There’s no place like home: No team has protected its home turf like the Patriots. Since Gillette Stadium opened in 2002, New England has won nearly 80% of its games in Foxborough, best in the NFL.
Scott Pitoniak