This week’s Sunday Night Football game features one of the most anticipated matchups of the season with the New England Patriots hosting the Seattle Seahawks. It’s the first time these teams have met since their instant classic battle at Super Bowl 49, and the rematch should have plenty of fireworks with both teams in the driver’s seat of their respective divisions.
Seahawks vs. Patriots 2016: Time, TV schedule and team news for ‘Sunday Night Football’
The last time these teams met was in Super Bowl 49.
The Patriots haven’t missed a beat this season, despite not having Tom Brady for the first four games. They went 3-1 during his DeflateGate suspension, with their only loss coming when they were down to their third-string rookie quarterback and Rob Gronkowski was still bothered by a hamstring injury.
Once Brady came back, the Patriots went scorched-earth on their schedule. They scored 30 or more points in three of their last four games, winning all four by double-digit scores. At 7-1, the Patriots are running away with the AFC East once again, and Brady is a legitimate MVP candidate despite missing a quarter of the season.
That said, this team does have some cracks, particularly on defense. They’re a middling 15th in yards allowed per game and 18th in passing yards per game. The curious decision to trade Chandler Jones in the offseason doesn’t look any better now -- New England has just 13 sacks in eight games. The Patriots also dealt Jamie Collins to the Cleveland Browns two weeks ago in another stunning move, leaving their defense down one of its best players. Of course, with Brady and Gronk at the top of their games, these problems have been easily papered over.
The Seahawks are coming off a wild (and controversial) Monday night win over the Buffalo Bills, pushing their record to 5-2-1. Russell Wilson had one of his best games of the season, throwing for two touchdowns and 282 yards on 20-of-26 passing. He also ran in a touchdown score, showing a little of the mobility that’s been missing since he suffered ankle and knee injuries earlier in the year. Both of his touchdown passes went to Jimmy Graham, who proved that he’s all the way back from his patellar injury from last year.
With the Arizona Cardinals stumbling to a 3-4-1 start, Seattle holds a solid two-game lead in the NFC West and entered Week 10 holding the No. 2 seed in the NFC playoffs. They’ve been able to grind out results despite being marred by injuries on both sides of the ball, and the defense should get a big boost with the expected return of Kam Chancellor this week.
However, there are still a lot of flaws with this team. The running game is just a mess and doesn’t show any signs of improving. Christine Michael bottomed out with 1 yard on five carries last week and is now questionable to play after being a late addition to the injury report on Friday. Thomas Rawls is still out, so rookie C.J. Prosise could play a bigger role in the backfield. Seattle will have to do much better than 75.4 rushing yards per game (30th in the league) if it hopes to keep playing deep into January.
Barring a second-half collapse, both teams should expect to be in the postseason this year, and that will have fans salivating over another potential clash in Super Bowl 51. But for now, they’ll be content to slug it out for supremacy in primetime television once again. With big stars, bigger personalities, and a little bad blood from their last encounter, this is the top can’t-miss game of Week 10.
How to watch
Time: 8:30 p.m. ET
Place: Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Mass.
TV: NBC
Announcers: Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth, Michele Tafoya
Online: NBC Sports
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