The Patriots look a lot like the Seahawks, but with more to gain in a win Sunday

A 1-0 team will take the field at Gillette Sunday, headed by a defensively-minded young coach succeeding one of the legendary football minds in the NFL. His squad will try to stack wins on the shoulders of an unheralded running back and a journeyman veteran quarterback. Ten years ago this team was fighting for a Super Bowl. Now they’re fighting for respect.

But enough about the Seahawks.

See, there are major parallels between Seattle and New England. Hold up a mirror to the Patriots and you could see the Seahawks reflecting back.

Two rookie coaches will prepare for a defensive showdown, and you have to assume that’s just how they like it. Seattle coach Mike MacDonald, the league’s youngest head coach, grew up as a linebackers coach and coordinator with the Baltimore Ravens – not so different from Jerod Mayo. MacDonald is following in the footsteps of Pete Carroll, and of course, Mayo has taken over for Bill Belichick. Both coaches must expect a high standard for defense in their respective franchises, where cornerbacks became household names.

Mayo’s never met MacDonald, but he recognizes the likeness between their schemes.

“You don’t know who’s coming, they drop out defensive ends. They do things that are very similar to some of the things that we do, as well: the zone blitzing, protecting the deep part of the field, and historically, they’ve always had a good defense,” Mayo said.

Mayo also praised Kenneth Walker, Seattle’s third-year running back. Walker rushed for 1,050 yards in his rookie season and 905 yards the following year. He ran for 103 yards and one touchdown Sunday, not so far off Rhamondre Stevenson’s 120-yard, touchdown performance.

“They’ve got a good, strong running game. It’s going to take us all doing our jobs, tackling, running to the ball – stuff we’ve been focused on every day since we started this thing,” linebacker Anfernee Jennings told WEEI. “We look forward to it. It’s a challenge.”

Seattle quarterback Geno Smith’s stat line Sunday won’t blow your hair back, but their offense has one thing the Patriots have search long and hard for since 2019: a true, standout receiver. That’s DK Metcalf, whose career continues as one of the worst sliding door moments of Belichick’s late career.
Belichick famously passed on Metcalf for N’Keal Harry. Now, he’s coming off a Pro-Bowl season having recorded back-to-back season with more than a thousand receiving yards.

But that’s all in the past – which could be a very lame T-shirt slogan for both these teams this year. The Seahawks, like the Patriots, are expected to be on the bottom half of their division, surrounded by competitors with more…advanced offenses.

Beating the Seahawks Sunday would surely do more than bolster the good vibes around Foxborough. It would signal a superiority over one of New England’s more contemporary rivals. It’s really dorky, but it could be as simple as, “Our rebuild is better than your sustained mediocrity.”

And don’t fans miss that condescension? Come on. You know you do.

That’s the silver lining to being a rebuilding team. The perpetual underdog Patriots have very little to lose against Seattle, a lot to gain, and a rookie quarterback warming in the wings. Seattle has a two-time Pro-Bowler in 33-year-old quarterback Geno Smith, but I’d still ride with the potential of 22-year-old Drake Maye’s future. Imagine beating Seattle, going 2-0, and dangling the promise of a young Josh Allen/Justin Herbert type-quarterback starting later in the season? That, friend, is best-case scenario.

Seattle and New England aren’t battling for Super Bowl glory these days, they’re proving themselves as franchises worthy of unwavering esteem.
They both want to move forward. Sunday, the Patriots have the chance to at least appear like they’re doing it with less ostentatiousness in the locker room, and much more to look forward to on the horizon.