What to Watch For: New England Patriots Offense vs. Seattle Seahawks Defense | 2026 Week 1

Welcome back, football.

Later tonight, the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks will kick off the 2026 regular season with a highly anticipated rematch of Super Bowl LX under the lights at Lumen Field. Earlier today, we reviewed how New England’s defense can stifle Seattle’s potent offense. Now, we switch sides of the ball and take a closer look at how the new-look Patriots’ offense can flip the script from an underwhelming showing in February and apply pressure on a stout Seahawks’ defense. 

Here’s what we’ll be watching for when New England’s offense lines up across from Seattle’s defense in the season opener:

Wednesday night’s game will be won and lost in the trenches, and that matchup at the point of attack is not one that went in the Patriots favor back in February. Defensively, that resulted in a stable rushing attack that kept the Seahawks on-schedule. Offensively, New England’s inability to control the line of scrimmage pushed them behind the chains, eliminated the threat of the run, and placed Drake Maye in a drop-back passing game under constant duress throughout the evening.

This offseason, the Patriots made it a priority to rectify those shortcomings. Alijah Vera-Tucker was signed in free agency to man the left guard spot between left tackle Will Campbell and center Jared Wilson, while Reggie Gilliam was added as a proven lead blocker out of the backfield. A healthy Campbell, Wilson moving back to his natural position, and added depth behind the starters with first-round pick Caleb Lomu and veteran guard Greg Van Roten will all play a part in stabilizing the front against Seattle.

New England will need to find an answer for a Seahawks’ front-seven that ranked as one of the NFL’s elite in 2025 and returns most of their starting lineup up-front. Led by former New York Jets’ standout Leonard Williams — who ranks first in sacks (18.0) and quarterback hits (50), and second in tackles for loss (25) among all NFL defensive tackles over the course of the last two seasons — and Byron Murphy II — who tied Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ defensive tackle Vita Vea for the most pressures (33) when aligned as a zero, one, or two-technique — Seattle’s interior duo ranked first in EPA per rush (-0.19) and third in success rate against the run (35.4%) last season.

On the edge, the Seahawks lost pass rusher Boye Mafe to the Cincinnati Bengals in free agency, but return former Dallas Cowboys’star DeMarcus Lawrence — who ranked as PFF’s second-highest graded edge defender against the run this season (83.7), and racked up 34 run stops, five forced fumbles, 65 pressures, 10 sacks, 15 quarterback hits, and 40 hurries (including the postseason) in 2025.

Seattle’s front-four remains formidable, and created havoc with just a 22.3% blitz rate in 2025 (seventh lowest in the league). Even so, they generated a pass rush that ranked third in the NFL in quarterback hurry percentage (10.1%) and sixth in quarterback pressure rate (38.1%) using a high percentage of stunts (24.5%, third in the NFL) that targeted the interior offensive line and highlighted the talent of their pass rushers. Without blitzing frequently, they generated pressure at the fifth-highest rate in the NFL (35.2%) last season.

If the Patriots want to change the outcome on Wednesday night, it’ll start with a plan to handle the Seahawks defensive line, which is easier said than done. Hopefully for New England, their offseason acquisitions will play a part in doing just that.

The Patriots struggles protecting Maye in the passing game were apparent in February, but the inception of those issues began with an inability to establish a reliable presence on the ground.

In Super Bowl LX, Rhamondre Stevenson (seven carries, 23 yards) and TreVeyon Henderson (six carries, 19 yards) combined for 13 rushing attempts and 42 rushing yards, with an average yards per carry of just 3.2 yards. New England — whether it be due to game script or otherwise — was quickly forced to become one-dimensional, and Maye had to shoulder the load of the offense for the vast majority of the night.

That was a constant for the Seahawks in 2025, and they thrived when keeping opponents in long-yardage situations. In the regular season, Seattle ranked third in total defense: first in points against per game (17.2), second in yards against per play (4.6), second in EPA per play (-0.12), first in defensive DVOA (-20.1%), third in pressures (180), second in quarterback hurries (73), first in yards against per rush (3.7), and third in rushing yards against per game (91.9). They ranked as a top-five unit in the red zone (50% of drives resulted in an opponent touchdown, fifth), and were the best unit in the league on third down (32.1% conversion percentage).

For Seattle, their highly-graded defense began with stopping the run, and finished with an aggressive approach once their opponents were in obvious passing situations. While the Seahawks didn’t blitz often, they were hyper-effective when they did — generating pressure at the third-highest rate in the NFL (48.2%) including the playoffs. 

Most commonly called in long-yardage situations (40.0% blitz rate on third-and-long is a team-high mark), the Seahawks boasted the NFL’s best mark in EPA/dropback when blitzing (-0.4 EPA per dropback), and brought that intensity into the Patriots’ backfield on the game’s biggest stage. Per PFF, Maye was pressured on 43.4% of his dropbacks in the Super Bowl and completed just 6-of-13 passes (46.2%) for 75 yards, one touchdown, and one interception when facing pressure.

Keeping Maye out of long downs-and-distances will be key in securing victory this go-around, and that will start with a more consistent performance from the front line and greater production from New England’s ballcarriers. They’ll need to do so without the services of Henderson, who was ruled out with an ankle injury on Tuesday.

New England will enter with hopes that Stevenson can reclaim his late-2025 form, when he established himself as the engine of the offense through December and January with 87 carries for 496 yards (5.7 yards-per-carry) and four touchdowns from Week 15 through the Super Bowl.

When the Patriots do look to pass, Maye will face-off against a Seattle secondary that leaned into his postseason kryptonite: Cover-6.

In 2025, the Seahawks specialized with a two-high safety coverage shell that ran Cover-2 on 31.0% of defensive snaps (third-highest rate in the NFL), but frequently rolled the safeties post-snap into a modified Cover-3 (24.8% of snaps) for a change of pace and to add a body into the run game. They mixed in some Cover-1 (17.4% of snaps) when rotating the safeties as a change of pace, and their corners held up well when called upon in man coverage — though that wasn’t commonly asked of them in head coach Mike Macdonald’s scheme. Overall, Seattle ranked second in the NFL in fewest pass yards per attempt allowed (6.2 yards) including the playoffs in 2025.

When squaring-off against Maye in Super Bowl LX, the Seahawks used that two-high shell as a pre-snap façade to shift late into Cover-6 — a tactic employed by the Houston Texans in the Divisional Round and the Denver Broncos in the AFC Championship Game. Entering February’s title game, Maye’s EPA/play dropped from a league-best 0.28 EPA/dropback to -0.02 when facing Cover-6, but he only saw the coverage on 7.0% of his total dropbacks (per Sumer Sports).

While those teams may have found the crack in Maye’s armor in the postseason, Seattle exploited it. The Seahawks ran Cover-6 on 30.4% of Maye’s dropbacks through the first three quarters of Super Bowl LX, and mixed in a variety of nickel-blitz packages in second and third-and-long situations. The result? Maye registered a -0.22 EPA/dropback on such snaps, and threw two interceptions in the process. 

With a summer to re-evaluate his rare shortcoming under the lights and cohesion on the offensive coaching staff that surrounds him for the first time since his high school days, Maye will look to showcase newfound answers to the test. Seattle will likely employ a similar strategy in coverage until the young gunslinger proves he can beat it, while taking pressure off of their new starters at cornerback to hold-up in man coverage. 

Maye knows what he’ll see from the Seahawks’ secondary. Now, it’ll be about executing against it — and he’ll have a stable of new weaponry to do so.

New England’s greatest offensive advantage in their rematch with Seattle will be along the boundary, but they’ll have to work around budding superstar Devon Witherspoon when they do take their shots downfield.

Witherspoon has a nose for the football, and is one of just three players in the NFL over the course of the last three seasons with 30-plus pass breakups, 15-plus tackles for loss, and a defensive touchdown (Kyle Hamilton, Brian Branch). He was PFF’s highest-graded corner overall last season (90.4), ranking first in run defense (90.1), and second in pass rush grade (91.8) and coverage (86.8).

The Patriots will work around Witherspoon with the new one-two combination of A.J. Brown and Romeo Doubs, who were the most prolific additions on the roster this offseason. 

Brown’s early-developing chemistry with Maye through training camp came as no surprise. In each of his four seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles, Brown registered a PFF grade of at least 96.8 on targets 20+ yards downfield, with 39 catches on 94 targets (41.2% catch rate), 1,455 yards (37.3 yards per catch) and 18 touchdowns — the most in the NFL. 

In 2025, Maye led the NFL in yards per attempt (8.9) and air yards per attempt (9.1). He completed 34-of-62 throws 20+ yards downfield (54.8% completion percentage) with 1,050 passing yards (16.9 yards per attempt), nine touchdowns, one interception, a passer rating of 132.7, and a PFF grade of 98.6 on such passes. Targeting deep receivers at a high rate, Maye’s 12.6% deep throw percentage ranked sixth in the NFL among qualifying quarterbacks.

Through training camp, Maye and Brown’s connection was a focal point —on downfield targets, in several red zone-specific team periods, and on underneath throws with the opportunity for big YAC (yards-after-catch) gains. Their complementary skillsets were evident from the onset of his arrival in Foxboro, but will take center stage for the first time on Wednesday night.

To the field, Doubs will face a rotation of corners that will likely feature new additions Trevon Diggs and Terrion Arnold after the Seahawks lost Riq Woolen to Philadelphia in March. Not to be overlooked, Doubs’ impact in the red zone has been a sticking point through camp — and should come as no surprise. In the 2025 season, New England ranked 20th in the NFL with a 55.71% touchdown percentage in the red zone. Doubs, in contrast, has scored 21 touchdowns in the red zone over the course of his four-year career with the Green Bay Packers. Of those scores, 12 have come inside the 10-yard line.

The top of the Patriots’ wide receiver room is the greatest difference from February until now in this matchup, and it’s paired with great question marks on Seattle’s side as they try to replace the contributions of Woolen, safety Coby Bryant (signed with the Chicago Bears) — and potentially another key starter — with street free agents this fall. 

New England will certainly feel the impact of losing Henderson for the season opener with an ankle injury suffered at practice on August 24, but he’s not the only contributor that will be missing in action when the action kicks off. 

The Patriots will also be without interior offensive line super-sub Ben Brown against the Seahawks; Brown exited the preseason opener against the Indianapolis Colts with a knee/ankle injury that has kept him on the sidelines in the weeks since.  

Seattle’s defense may be on the wrong-end of the injury bug in this one, however, as star safety Nick Emmanwori is doubtful to take part in Wednesday night’s game with an ankle injury. Emmanwori was previously used in the style of the Baltimore Ravens’ Kyle Hamilton or the Chargers’ Derwin James, taking the vast majority of his snaps in the box or near the line of scrimmage (852 of 874 snaps came in the box or slot, 97.5%). The 6’3”, 227 lb. speedster has the size, strength, and speed (ran a 4.38 40-yard dash at the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine) to make plays against the run and pass, and involves himself in both areas of the game.

Last season, Emmanwori was highly effective in the role, joining Witherspoon (2023) as the only rookies with 10-plus pass breakups and eight-plus tackles for loss in the NFL over the last 10 seasons. His potential absence from the game could pay dividends for New England.

Behind Emmanwori would typically be safety Ty Okada (hamstring), who was ruled out after two “did not participate” practice sessions this week. Okada played in all 20 games for the Seahawks last season and logged 11 starts.

New England has the firepower and experience necessary to make Wednesday night’s contest in Seattle a much more competitive showdown. When the action kicks off, it’ll be about putting the pieces together quickly, establishing early chemistry, and executing at a high-level to reduce negative plays and take advantage of the few openings the Seahawks will present. We’ll soon see if they’re up for the challenge this early in the season, or if Seattle’s vaunted defense will return to their dominant form in Week 1. 

How do you think the Patriots’ new-look offense will match up against one of the NFL’s elite defensive units? What are your offensive keys to victory for New England? Drop your thoughts in the comments below and join the conversation on Patriots Roundtable.

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