Will Drake Maye lead New England into a new era of championships? Or will the Seahawks get revenge 11 years in the making? Our writers give their verdicts
Pressure Sam Darnold. Darnold was outstanding in the NFC championship game when forced to throw under duress. But that hasn’t been the case all season. The Seahawks rank sixth in EPA/dropback when there is no pressure, but drop to 22nd when there is pressure. Collapsing the pocket is New England’s best shot at success. Their interior pass-rushers, Christian Barmore and Milton Williams, will need to overwhelm Darnold. OC
Keep Jaxon Smith-Njigba in check. New England’s defense has been exceptional this postseason, and they will have their hands full with Seattle running back Kenneth Walker, who is red hot. But Smith-Njigba is a different animal. He can take over a game with chunk passes, deep passes, all passes. If the Patriots allow him to get into a rhythm, it could be a blowout. MJ
Get to Darnold early and often. The Seahawks signal caller has regressed when the walls close in, throwing the bulk of his 14 regular-season picks while under duress. A few well-timed blitz calls from the Patriots could make this new, improved version of Darnold look more like the quarterback we saw when he was with the Jets. AL
