This week’s Sunday Night Football game will be a matchup between the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks. Kickoff is set for 8:20 pm ET on NBC.
This is going to be a battle of two of the most well-known and successful head coaches in the league. Pete Carroll and Bill Belichick have found a way to find consistency with their teams over the years.
“Neither one of us are fly-by-night guys,” said Carroll. “There’s a real fundamental connection that we were raised right by the people we grew up under. But I do think also it’s a lot easier to stay with it when you win. It’s hard if you get your butt kicked week in, week out. Hard to hold onto your jobs and these opportunities.”
Patriots Have New QB
This season, Belichick has one of the biggest challenges he has faced in his career. With Tom Brady in Tampa Bay, he has a new quarterback under center for the first time in years.
Cam Newton is far from the type of quarterback that Brady was, but he could find some success in New England. Week 1 was a win for the Patriots, outscoring the Dolphins 21-11 in their opener.
Newton rushed for 75 yards, which is more than Brady ever had in a game for New England. He ran for two touchdowns and threw for 155 yards.
It will be interesting to watch if the Patriots can still compete for a championship without Brady. The Bills were excited to have a division without the legendary duo of Belichick and Brady, but maybe Newton can continue their success.
Seahawks Started Hot
Quarterback Russell Wilson went 31 of 35 for 322 yards in the Seahawks’ opener against the Falcons. He threw for four touchdowns in the 38-25 win.
“We wanted to spread the ball around,” Wilson said. “We wanted to get the ball to a lot of different guys. We wanted to be aggressive in our approach.”
Without Belichick and Brady, one of the best duos in the NFL is now Wilson and Carroll. They have proven what they can do in this league, and their team is set up for a successful year.
Chris Carson has become a workhorse for this team. The running back caught six passes for two touchdowns against Atlanta.
This is a team that can compete for a championship this season.
Prediction
Both of these teams won in Week 1, so someone will be moving to 2-0 while the other slides to 1-1. The Seahawks enter the game as 3.5-point favorites.
The jury is still out as to how successful Newton can be in New England. On the other hand, you know exactly what you are going to get with Wilson and the Seahawks.
They won’t have the usual rowdy crowd in Seattle, but I am still taking the Seahawks to cover the spread against the Patriots on Sunday. It should be a fun matchup. Good luck!