Why Seahawks will give sequel to Super Bowl beatdown vs. Patriots in NFL season opener

The Seattle Seahawks will celebrate last year’s beatdown of the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LX by unfurling their championship banner and getting multiple ovations from their adoring fans. Once the game kicks off, the Seahawks will drive home the point that while last year’s Super Bowl triumph was extraordinary, they are not satisfied. They will go about the business of beating the Patriots once again in the season opener.

This is no put-down of the Patriots. The belief is that head coach Mike Vrabel will have a team that is better and more talented than the one that surprised opponents last year, won the AFC East title and earned a spot in the championship game by winning postseason games against AFC opponents.

However, the Seahawks are the standard of excellence in the NFL because they have the best roster in the NFL. While the Patriots have endured multiple changes, the Seahawks return 20 of the 22 starters on offense and defense that they had last year.

Seahawks have a deep team and sharp QB in Darnold

Steady quarterback Sam Darnold has proved himself the last two years as a leader who is not going to shrink during the biggest moments. He helped turn the Minnesota Vikings into a playoff team in 2024 and when that team chose not to retain him, he was signed by the Seattle. He helped head coach Mike Macdonald turn the Seahawks into the best team in the NFL.

Darnold answered all questions that came his way last year and was at his best in the biggest games. He completed 323 of 477 passes for 4,048 yards with 25 TDs and 14 interceptions. Once the Seahawks reached the postseason, Darnold lined up under center despite an oblique injury and threw 5 TD passes and did not throw an interception.

The Seahawks won’t have Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker at running back, but they have Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Cooper Kupp at wide receiver. Rookie Jadarian Price gets the call at running back and the Seahawks are not expecting a downturn at the position.

Defense is the backbone of the Seahawks

As efficient as the offense was last year — 7th in total offense, 8th in passing yards and 3rd in points scored — the defense is the most dependable aspect of the team.

DeMarcus Lawrence anchors the defensive line as he had 7.0 sacks, 11 tackles for loss and 3 forced fumbles last season. Ernest Jones took over at middle linebacker last year and led the team with 126 tackles and also had 5 interceptions. Devon Witherspoon turned in a special performance in the Super Bowl and is one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL.

Macdonald explained that while the Seahawks are happy to celebrate last year’s title, the team is focused on what it has to do this season.

“We’re going to be juiced, and the banner drops, and it’s going be a cool moment. The guys earned that,” Macdonald told the Boston Globe. “I think it’s a fair ask to say, ‘Let’s enjoy that moment,’ to be proud of that team and what they did, understand what it took to get that moment. But now we have to move forward and kind of recenter and go focus on what we need to do.”

Patriots may be better than last season

The Patriots have one of the best young quarterbacks in the game in Drake Maye. He put shockingly great numbers on the board in Year 2 of his career after he was he was the No. 3 pick overall out of North Carolina in 2024. Maye learned his trade as a rookie and became an expert in his second season.

He completed 354 of 492 passes for 4,394 yards with 31 TDs and 8 interceptions. His 72.0 completion percentage led the league. He did all that with an average-to-below-average group of receivers that included Stefon Diggs and Kayshon Boutte.

Both of those receivers are ex-Patriots now and have been replaced by A.J. Brown and Romeo Doubs. The Maye to Brown connection will be New England’s best pitch and catch combination since Tom Brady connected with Randy Moss.

While that’s going to be impressive, the Patriots have 24 new players on their 53-man roster and six new starters. It will be difficult for the Patriots to mesh together and play their best football at the start of the season.

The late signing of CB Christian Gonzalez to a 4-year, $135 million contract is a positive development, this assignment is too much for the Patriots to handle. While their offense should be quite a bit more effective than it was in the 29-13 defeat in the Super Bowl, the Pats are not going to be able to overcome the dominant Seahawks and the incredibly supportive 12s.

The Seahawk fans have been with the team since its first season in 1976, and they will be in full throat as the Seahawks record another triumph over the Patriots in the Wednesday night season opener.

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