Have to assume the offense will be more explosive. They clearly played it pretty close to the vest yesterday because of the situation - they assumed the Broncos weren't going to be dangerous on offense and the backup QB would likely make some big mistakes, and after the 1Q they were pretty much right. They also knew that a blizzard was coming some time in the second half. Drake also missed some passes (before the weather turned) that he usually hits, but again I wonder if we was being coached to be extra careful. His misses intermediate were short, his misses long were deep, his misses to the sideline were wide. That's the sign of someone playing conservatively.
In the SB the situation will be completely different. Seattle has a legitimately good offense. Not great, but good. JSN is a top 3 receiver in the NFL, Walker is an explosive RB, and Kubiak is a great playcaller. The Patriots will need Drake Maye to make a LOT of big plays. Yes, that also carries risks of big mistakes. But when you're the underdog you need VARIANCE, which means you gamble and take bigger risks. Weather also should not be a factor as long as rain doesn't come into the forecast (right now none forecasted but anyone familiar with the Bay Area in the winter knows that can change quickly).
Seattle has a near-Texans level defense. But thankfully for Will Campbell it's not necessarily based on incredible edge rushers. Leonard Williams and Bryon Murphy, their two DTs, are their co-sack leaders with 7 apiece, followed by their edge rushers Nwosu (co-leader with 7 sacks) and Demarcus Lawrence (6 sacks). They play incredibly disciplined zone coverage and have the corners to mix in heavy man when needed (which they did at a remarkable rate against the Rams), while getting distributed consistent pressure across the front 4 with a few blitzes mixed in. It's a very smart defense - reminds me a bit more of the Chargers style but with better secondary players. Jared Wilson is the one I'm really concerned about for this matchup and I wonder if Ben Brown may be more suitable for this game. We will not be able to run on Seattle - they are very stout and disciplined and not undersized anywhere. We will have to win this game in the air. Drake will have to be aggressive and decisive.
The Rams are the only team that's truly lit up the Seattle defense all year with any regularity and we don't have Puka / Devante Adams or their offensive line - they simply took shots to their top guys in 1v1 situations and let them win. Not a strategy for the Patriots.
The Bucs also put 38 on them (without Mike Evans!) and that's the game that's probably worth going back to rewatch. Egbuka went off for 150+ yards in that game from what I recall, including a long 50+ yard reception. We are going to have to hit some shots over the top, trying to drive the field in dinks and dunks probably won't happen. This may be a big Boutte/Williams down the sideline, Douglas deep down the middle type of game for us to have a shot to score enough points.
