Coming off a victory over the Bengals in Week 1, the Patriots welcome the Seattle Seahawks to Gillette Stadium for Sunday's home opener.
On Friday's final injury report, New England ruled out starting left guard Sidy Sow (ankle) for the second consecutive week. Sow injured his ankle in the team's preseason finale last month and will now be inactive for Week 2. The Patriots also listed four players as questionable for Sunday's game vs. Seattle: S Kyle Dugger (ankle), RB JaMycal Hasty (knee), G Layden Robinson (shoulder), and DE Deatrich Wise Jr. (shoulder).
Speaking on Friday morning, Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo was uncertain about the three mid-week additions to the injury report statuses. However, after being added to the injury report on Thursday, it was a positive sign that Robinson, Dugger, and Hasty participated in the team's final session, with Robinson as a full participant. That would signal that Robinson should be good to go on Sunday, while it would take a lot to keep Dugger out of this game as well.
Along the offensive line, the Patriots settled on a five-man unit that got the job done in Cincinnati. After benching starter Chuks Okorafor, OT Vederian Lowe played the final three-plus quarters at left tackle. The Pats also elevated practice-squad G Michael Jordan to play left guard. New England's expected offensive line against the Seahawks is LT Vederian Lowe, LG Michael Jordan, C David Andrews, RG Layden Robinson, and RT Mike Onwenu.
Although it was far from perfect, that group performed well enough to win against the Bengals. This week, the offensive line will deal with Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald's exotic pressure system. Macdonald's defense generated the second-highest pressure rate in the NFL's opening week, disrupting Broncos QB Box Nix on 43.1% of his drop-backs. The only team who allowed a higher pressure rate in Week 1? The Patriots at 48.3%.
The biggest thing the Patriots offensive line needs to clean up is eliminating unblocked or free runners to the quarterback, which Macdonald specializes in creating. New England allowed the third-highest unblocked pressure rate in Week 1, 13.8%, while the Seahawks generated the second-most unblocked pressures with five against Denver. With a potential weak link at left tackle, a backup at left guard, and a rookie at right guard, one-on-one losses will happen for the O-Line. However, they need to do a better job this week at diagnosing pressure.
Moving to the offensive backfield, RB JaMycal Hasty (knee) is questionable for Sunday's game. Last week, it was a mild surprise that New England didn't promote either of their two running backs from the practice squad, with Gibson (hip, since removed) popping up on the injury report. Heading into Week 2, it's a possibility that Kevin Harris or undrafted rookie Terrell Jennings could be elevated.
The Patriots used a practice squad elevation on DT Trysten Hill to reinforce the defensive line against the Bengals. Hill only played seven snaps last Sunday while waiver-wire addition DT Eric Johnson was a healthy inactive. If the Patriots need to reinforce another position, such as running back, Johnson may be prepared to play a reserve role in Sunday's game with two full weeks of Patriots practice under his belt.
Defensively, it would be surprising if starting safety Kyle Dugger (ankle) sat this one out. Still, Dugger was added to the injury report on Thursday. The Pats safety duo, including starter Jabrill Peppers, is a huge piece to the defense's puzzle, disguising coverage to keep a top on the defense against an explosive passing offense and reinforcing the run defense.
Last week, the Pats had a three-safety package that included veteran Jaylinn Hawkins on 47% of the defensive plays. Hawkins played various roles as a tight end-stopper in man coverage, a split-safety deep zone defender, and also played techniques in short zone coverage. The vet will likely have a role in this week's game plan as well, while the cornerback room also has potential hybrids who could play more safety coverages.
On the Seattle side, starting RB Kenneth Walker is officially doubtful after injuring his oblique in the win over the Broncos. Walker rushed for 103 yards anad a touchdown in the 26-20 victory, adding 67 yards after contact on 20 attempts (3.35 avg.). For comparison, backup RB Zach Charbonnet had eight carries for 12 yards with 17 yards after contact (2.13 avg.).
Charbonnet is a solid back, but Walker is a difference-making ball carrier. Due to their three-headed monster at wide receiver, the Broncos defense played a large portion of the game in a light box with two-high safeties. Walker took advantage by rushing for 93 yards on 14 carries into light boxes with three 10-plus yard runs and a 23-yard touchdown.
New England's defense will likely use a strategy similar to that of Denver, especially if Walker doesn't play. Seattle's starting right tackle, George Fant, is also doubtful due to a knee injury, further reinforcing that the Patriots will dare the Seahawks to run the ball to prevent receivers DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, and Jaxon Smith-Njigba from beating them. For more on the chess match, we dove deeper into this philosophy in this week's gameplan.
Lastly, the Seahawks defense will also be down starting pass-rusher Uchenna Nwosu. Nwosu was ruled out due to a knee injury, while former Patriots tight end Pharaoh Brown (foot) will also miss Sunday's game.
The Patriots head into Sunday's matchup with Seattle coming off a surprising Week 1 win. Despite their victory in Cincinnati, New England is still a 3.5-point home underdog to the Seahawks. There were good vibes around 1 Patriot Place following the opening-week win, but winning one game hasn't turned the odds makers into believers just yet.
New England welcomes Seattle to Gillette Stadium for Sunday's home opener at 1 pm ET.
DISCLAIMER: The views and thoughts expressed in this article are those of the writer and don't necessarily reflect those of the organization. Read Full Disclaimer
