FOXBORO — The Patriots surprised a lot of people around the NFL — and even in New England — when they beat the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 1. Will the Patriots keep it going and improve to 2-0 with a win over the Seattle Seahawks at Gillette Stadium on Sunday?
A victory on Sunday would give New England its first 2-0 start since 2019. With the Super Bowl XLIX champs in the house to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of that title, there will be plenty of juice for the team (and Patriots fans) to feed off of before and during the contest.
Can the Patriots begin their 2024 campaign with back-to-back wins? The WBZ-TV and CBS Boston sports team seems confident that the Patriots are going to treat their fans to a good home opener in Foxboro.
Steve Burton, WBZ-TV Sports
They’ve already won on the road, so there’s no reason why the Patriots can’t win in front of their own fans in their home opener.
After being 8.5-point underdogs last week in Cincinnati, the Pats are 3.5-point home underdogs this Sunday against Seattle. But don’t forget “The Mayo Effect” — the new head coach has his players buying in and believing in themselves.
Patriots 21, Seahawks 13
Dan Roche, WBZ-TV Sports
Week 1 and Week 2 are strange ones, historically, in the NFL. Just because the Patriots stunned the Bengals in Week 1 on the road, it guarantees nothing for Week 2.
Both the Patriots and the Seahawks (26-20 winners over Denver in Week 1) won their openers under new head coaches. So both will have great energy on Sunday.
After a 1-7 campaign at Gillette Stadium last year, the Patriots desperately need to get off to a good start at home this season. I expect a battle, but the New England defense should be able to force a turnover or two against Geno Smith and Seattle’s offense.
Patriots 23, Seahawks 20
Nick Giovanni, WBZ-TV Sports
The Patriots set out to shock the world against the Bengals in Week 1. I, for one, have to admit I did not see them coming out of “The Jungle” with a win. I’m not going to underestimate them two weeks in a row since I believe the Bengals posed a bigger threat, offensively, than the Seahawks.
I see the Patriots defense carrying the day Sunday. Hopefully, Jacoby Brissett and the offense are able to spread the field a little more through the air so Seattle can’t just key in on Rhamondre Stevenson. Offensive Coordinator Alex Van Pelt did tell us Thursday that he intends to use more of the playbook this time around. End of the day: I say Pats win their home opener.
Patriots 17, Seahawks 13
Joe Weil, CBS Boston
This will be a fun matchup between two first-year, defensive-minded head coaches and teams off to 1-0 starts (not to mention the upcoming flashbacks to Super Bowl XLIX, with Malcolm Butler back at Gillette for this game as well).
I’m picking the Patriots this week. As good as DK Metcalf is, and as good as Geno Smith and Tyler Lockett can be, I think the Patriots can contain this Seattle offense, especially with running back Kenneth Walker III all banged up right now.
The Patriots will have to play mistake-free ball again in this one though. For them to keep beating their underdog odds, I think they’ll have to stick to their formula from last week. Run the ball well (take ’em to the hill, Rhamondre!), not turn over the football, and let the defense shine.
Patriots 17, Seahawks 14
Matthew Geagan, CBS Boston
After winning a close game on the road last week, there’s no reason to think the Patriots can’t win on their home turf this weekend. They’ll have to lean on their defense again and play smart on offense — and likely get a break or two along the way — but this is a very winnable game.
It won’t be pretty and it’s not going to have a lot of flash and sizzle, but all that will matter in the end is the Patriots are 2-0 to start the season.
Patriots 17, Seahawks 10
We’ll get you ready for Sunday’s Patriots-Seahawks showdown with Patriots GameDay at 11:30 a.m. on WBZ-TV! After the game, switch over to TV38 for full reaction and analysis on Patriots 5th Quarter!