Seahawks find some balance, toughness in win over Patriots

The Seahawks have been dominant in their stadium since Carroll’s arrival in 2010, and should be just as acclimated to a winning home environment as Patriots fans by now.

This question had begun to evolve in the minds of fans and analysts as this season progressed, but at this point it may now be a legitimate issue.

As Ben Volin of the Boston Globe notes, one year ago, the Patriots defense finished in the top 10 in points and yards allowed. With players like Richard Sherman, Earl Thomas, and Kam Chancellor, the Seahawks are a forced to be reckoned with on the defensive side of the ball. The pass was intercepted by Patriots cornerback Malcolm Butler to preserve a 28-25 Patriots win. The Patriots’ defense isn’t a mess, but it’s certainly not looking like one that has the characteristics of one that’s ready for any sort of playoff run. The Venn diagram of “fans who like to drink six beers and holler their heads off” and “people who can afford to go to a Patriots game” doesn’t have the largest overlap.

Was this the fallout from the Jamie Collins trade? Everyone plays with bumps and bruises this time of year.

The Patriots have employed a bend-but-don’t-break approach to defense this season, but that strategy isn’t very effective without players capable of eventually derailing drives with big plays and sacks. There were multiple occasions where they either blew coverage or had miscommunications, and a few of these came on crucial third down conversions.

“It came down to 1 yard at the end, and we didn’t get it”, Brady said.

Chancellor, returning after missing four games with a groin injury, played his usually hard-hitting game – his fourth-quarter hit on Julian Edelman causing a fumble and leading to Seattle’s last touchdown. It was easily the worst outing of the season for a unit that still ranks sixth in the National Football League in points allowed per game (18.1).

Watch all three of Baldwins touchdowns against the Patriots below.

The Seahawks scored on four of their five first-half possessions, with Wilson throwing for 197 yards.

On first down from the Seattle two yard line Brady called his own number and gained a yard on the QB sneak.

The Seahawks (6-2-1) rolled up a season-high 420 yards of offense, with Baldwin tying his career high in TD catches. LeGarrette Blount didn’t get in on second down. New England rookie CB/KR Cyrus Jones, inactive the past three games, dressed, with CB Eric Rowe inactive after a rough game before the bye. Perhaps his experience in high school gave him insight into what Tom was about to do, as Kam racked up more than 2,000 passing yards as a Senior at Matthew Fontaine Maury High School. The Patriots were also held to 2.9 yards per rush.

Even in the loss, it was clear that trading for Bennett was an excellent choice by the Patriots. But Gronkowski also initiated contact with the Seahawks safety, delivering a muddied area for blaming the referees.

Texans 24, Jaguars 13: In Jacksonville, Brock Osweiler threw two touchdown passes and Kareem Jackson returned an interception for a score.