Skip to content

Patriots at Seahawks Preview: Tom Brady will play at Seattle for the first time in his career.

Oct 13, 2012, 1:26 PM EDT

Leave a comment
154058729

PATRIOTS (3-2) AT SEAHAWKS (3-2)

By Football Night in America’s Elliott Kalb

The jersey retirement ceremony for Hall of Fame member Cortez Kennedy will be held during halftime.

Seahawk head coach PETE CARROLL was NE head coach from 1997-99

Through five games, the Patriots have actually rushed the ball more than they have passed. Of their 388 offensive plays, 191 were rushes and 185 passes (the other 12 plays were sacks). And they are averaging 33 points per outing.

Tom Brady will play at Seattle for the first time in his career.

The Patriots have an overall record of 5-4 under head coach Bill Belichick in games played on the West Coast, including a 2006 Divisional playoff victory at San Diego on Jan. 14, 2007. Last season, the Patriots were victorious over the Oakland Raiders in their only West Coast trip, winning 31-9 on Oct. 2, 2011.

With one touchdown pass against Seattle, Tom Brady will extend his streak to 38 straight games with at least one touchdown pass and continue his third longest streak all time, behind Drew Brees (48-current) and Johnny Unitas (47).

Wes Welker has three straight 100-yard games and can tie a team mark if he reaches 100-yards receiving at Seattle. Randy Moss has the Patriots record with four straight 100-yard games in 2007.

The Patriots have scored seven rushing touchdowns in the last two weeks.

The Patriots have had a lot of success running from passing formations, as Ridley has rushed for 106 and 151 yards the past two games.

Tom Curren wrote on Thursday, “Believe it or not, Tom Brady has thrown more touchdown passes (166-142) on the road than at home, thrown for more yards (21,541 to 19,888), completes passes at a higher rate (64.1 to 63.8) and had a higher yards per attempt (7.72). His road record? Absurd. 57-26. Of course, his home record is even more ridiculous — 70-13 — but the point is that a weekend away from Foxboro is not daunting to Brady.

The Patriots are +10 in turnover ratio, tied with Atlanta for best in the league.  They’ve turned the ball over only four times in five games.

Five weeks into the season, the Patriots lead the league in a number of offensive categories. They include yards gained, at 439.4 per start, and points with 165, an average of 33 per outing. On the other side, Seattle is the best in the league in fewest yards allowed, at 258.6, and is second in points allowed, with 70, an average of 14 per game.

Seattle’s Third-down defense improved against Carolina. Only the 49ers have allowed fewer points, but Seattle’s points-allowed figure is inflated by touchdowns scored on a fake field goal and an interception return.

Right defensive end Chris Clemons is excelling in Pete Carroll’s defensive scheme playing the ‘Leo’ position.

Despite playing in only 45.2% of the defensive snaps this season (140 of 310), Seattle’s Bruce  Irvin leads all rookies with 4.5 sacks.

Marshawn Lynch has rushed for 100 yards in eight of his last 14 games and last season he set a career-high with 13 total touchdowns (career high and tied for third in the NFL with 12 rush, one rec.). He is the NFL’s most productive rusher, totaling 1,449 yards on the ground since Week 9 of 2011.

Skip to Comments
More SNF All Access
Back to Homepage
Leave Comment

You must be logged in to leave a comment. Not a member? Register now!

More SNF All Access
Back to Homepage

Sunday Night Football Twitter

View all »