New England Patriots vs. Seattle Seahawks: Breaking Down Seattle's Game Plan
Days away from the NFL's crown jewel, Super Bowl XLIX has all the indications of being the absolute manifestation of former league commissioner De Benneville Bell's vision. Bell is the originator of "On any given Sunday, any team can beat any other team."
With the weekend in sight, the much-anticipated tilt between the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks draws ever nearer. Both teams may have entered the playoffs with matching 12-4 records and top seeds in their respective conferences, but they got here by different means.
The Seahawks are playing in their second consecutive championship game but will face a much more well-rounded opponent this go-round. They still face an all-time great quarterback, but this one will be backed by a Hall of Fame head coach.
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The betting lines opened with Seattle being favored by two points but has since swung toward New England, according to Odds Shark. As we head into the weekend, the Patriots are now favored by one while the over/under sits at 47.5 points.
| 365.5 (11th) | Total Offense | 375.8 (9th) |
| 29.3 (4th) | Scoring Offense | 24.6 (10th) |
| 257.6 (9th) | Passing Offense | 203.1 (27th) |
| 7.0 (20th) | Yards Per Attempt | 7.7 (6th) |
| 107.9 (18th) | Rushing Offense | 172.6 (1st) |
| 3.9 (22nd) | Yards Per Attempt | 5.3 (1st) |
| 44.3 (6th) | 3rd-Down Percentage | 42.5 (11th) |
| 344.1 (13th) | Total Defense | 267.1 (1st) |
| 19.6 (8th) | Scoring Defense | 15.9 (1st) |
| 239.8 (17th) | Passing Defense | 185.6 (1st) |
| 7.2 (15th) | Yards Per Attempt | 6.3 (2nd) |
| 104.3 (9th) | Rushing Defense | 81.5 (3rd) |
| 4.0 (9th) | Yards Per Attempt | 3.4 (2nd) |
| 40.2 (16th) | 3rd-Down Percentage | 37.1 (8th) |
On Defense
The real marquee matchup of this game is the Patriots offense and the Seahawks defense. The Patriots have proved their ability to shift the focal point of the offense in the playoffs, thrashing the Ravens through the air and pounding the Colts into submission.
The Seahawks' top concerns should be with limiting tight end Rob Gronkowski's effect on the game and stopping running back LeGarrette Blount from pummeling the middle of the defense. Seattle has had the most trouble with teams that were able to establish a solid running game and were able to chase Russell Wilson into making some mistakes.
The Patriots can split Gronkowski out wide often to take a defender out of the box before handing the ball off for a plunge into the front row. The play of Earl Thomas and Kam Chancellor will play a major role in the way Gronkowski is defended the rest of the afternoon
The lack of depth at defensive tackle due to injury is likely to be an issue again, but expect Patriots head coach Bill Belichick to attempt to exploit the weakness when possible. Otherwise, Seattle doesn't change its formation very much. It typically will lineup in a single-high safety formation, barring the use of two tight ends.
Overall, it's very a winnable battle for the Seahawks. Bobby Wagner will need to shore up the team's interior run defense, and Richard Sherman has been a serious interception threat on any passes thrown into his coverage.
On Offense
The New England defense has yet to register any sacks during the postseason, and the Seattle offensive line has consistently been less than stellar in pass-blocking. Wilson has been pressured more than any other quarterback during the regular season.
Wilson experienced some form of pressure on 46 percent of his dropbacks while being sacked 40 times. Wilson's ability to scramble for gains will be a big part of this game, as the team seemed to wait until the last five minutes of regulation before allowing Wilson to utilize the read-option in its win in the conference championship.
The success of Wilson when he scrambles, along with establishing Marshawn Lynch, will be the main point of attack for Seattle to move the ball. The team does not have any serious receiving threats, as it proved incapable of breaking from coverage against Green Bay.
Throwing deep passes has been a big part of Seattle's success throughout the season, but with the Patriots' talented secondary Wilson would be best served to avoid forcing a throw at all costs. The third-year pro should improve from his last performance after throwing four interceptions during the outing.
Incorporating the tight ends into the passing game will be key to helping establish both the run and pass, but the team seems to have eased on targeting the trio of options on the Seattle roster.
*All advanced stats gathered from Pro Football Focus.
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