Twenty-One Sacks Later: The Patriots Get Their Super Bowl Rematch Seven Months Early

The NFL season starts on a Wednesday this year, and it starts with a grudge. New England at Seattle, 8:20 p.m. ET on NBC, is a rematch of Super Bowl LX, which the Seahawks won 29-13 in a game that was over by the fourth quarter. Defending champions are 8-3 in regular-season rematches. The Patriots are 3-point underdogs at Lumen Field, with a total of 44.5, and both numbers tell you the betting market sees a defensive night.

Start with why New England lost in February. Drake Maye was sacked 21 times in the playoffs, the most by any quarterback in a single postseason in league history, and six of them came from Seattle in the Super Bowl. The offseason was built around fixing that. The Patriots signed guard Alijah Vera-Tucker and are counting on Will Campbell to lock down the blind side in his second year. If Maye has time Wednesday, this is a different game than the one in February. If he does not, it is the same one.

Then there is A.J. Brown. Mike Vrabel coached Brown in Tennessee, where he became one of the league's most dangerous deep threats, and New England brought him in this summer. Brown has cleared 1,000 yards in six of his seven seasons and leads the NFL in deep-throw touchdowns since 2022. He gives Maye the thing New England did not have in the Super Bowl, a receiver who can win a one-on-one when the protection is breaking down.

Seattle's problem is the back end. The Seahawks led the league in points allowed last season at 17.2 a game and were sixth in yards, but they lost safeties Coby Bryant and Ty Okada, rookie safety Bud Clark broke his ankle and is done for the year, and nickel Nick Emmanwori is still limited after ankle surgery. They signed an undrafted corner, Avery Smith, on cutdown day to fill a hole. Against Brown and a healthier Maye, that is the matchup that decides the game.

The best individual battle is Christian Gonzalez against Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Gonzalez, now the highest-paid corner in football after a four-year, $135 million extension, held the reigning Offensive Player of the Year to 27 yards on 10 targets in the Super Bowl. Smith-Njigba has had seven months to think about that.

Two roster notes. Patriots running back TreVeyon Henderson is out with an ankle injury. Seattle's first-round back, Jadarian Price, makes his debut but is expected to split carries with George Holani and Emanuel Wilson, so temper the fantasy expectations, even with Kenneth Walker III gone to Kansas City.

The pick here is the under, and the reasoning is simple: New England finished fourth in points allowed last season, Seattle finished first, and the team with the rebuilt offensive line has not proven anything yet. But the Patriots are the more interesting side at plus-three. A team that got embarrassed on the biggest stage, spent the offseason fixing the exact thing that embarrassed it, and gets the rematch in Week 1 is usually worth a look.