The Patriots looked formidable in Week 1, but that win felt situational as they took advantage of a Bengals team that is seemingly never ready for the start of seasons. The Seahawks, despite entering a tough road environment, are simply more talented on both sides of the ball. Even without Kenneth Walker to carry the rock, Seattle can rely on Zach Charbonnet to help Geno Smith. There will have likely been a concentration in practice this week for Smith to spread it around a bit more to his wide receivers. As long as the Seahawks protect the ball, they come away with this.

Some price-shopping should uncover the "hook" that could prove important Sunday at Gillette Stadium. The Seahawks looked no juggernaut last week vs. Denver, waiting until the Broncos defense tired in the second half for Seattle to overcome its own slew of mistakes. Meanwhile, we were impressed with the Patriots' formula, playing mistake-free football and allowing Jerod Mayo's underrated defense a chance Io wreak havoc. Joe Burrow and the Bengals were under siege all last week, and Jacoby Brissett ran a low-risk New England offense with a steady hand. It's a clever recipe that could give the Patriots a chance most weekends this season. Play Patriots

Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo showed off a hard-nosed, well-trained defensive unit in Week 1. The offense was hyper-conservative behind QB Jacoby Brissett. Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald is a defensive guru, and a master game planner with a great secondary at his disposal. I expect Brissett to continue playing conservatively in this matchup, and look to limit turnovers. The Seahawks offense may start slowly, considering they are in an early season coast-to-coast travel spot. Seattle QB Geno Smith had his struggles in Week 1. I see both teams leaning on the run heavily. I'll predict the Seahawks win 17-13, in a fairly uneventful game that goes Under this low total.

The Patriots' Week One upset of Cincinnati was all about the defense. New England did not pull off a single play that went as far as 20 yards. New Seattle coach Mike MacDonald , a defensive specialist, should be able to contain an ultra-conservative offense. His predecessor, Pete Carroll, brought 35 Seahawks teams east for an early kickoff. They won more than two-thirds outright, which bodes well for his successor.

Metcalf draws Christian Gonzalez, who is an elite cornerback and who will travel. Metcalf was in the slot less than 15% of the plays week one making a high catch volume very unlikely

Seattle eventually had its way with the Broncos in Week 1 but suffered a few key injuries in that game. Not only is Kenneth Walker dinged up, but the Seahawks are down to their third-string RT, making the weakest unit on the team even weaker. We saw the Patriots manhandle an overmatched Bengals O-line last week, and at home this is a matchup where I expect them to again have success. With quality corners on the Pats as well, that's going to limit the Seahawks' scoring, and I'd be surprised if they managed more than 20 points here.

The Patriots burned me in Survivor and pulled off a huge upset in Cincinnati. They ran for 170 yards and did not turn the ball over. But they were extremely fortunate: Cincinnati fumbled on a punt return, dropped a touchdown, fumbled at the goal line and botched an easy interception. Under Mike Macdonald, Seattle held Denver to 3.3 yards per play. Ryan Grubb's offense got going late with 17 second-half points. Lay the field goal.