Five and a half years after Super Bowl XLIX, the image of Darius Butler stepping in front of Russell Wilson's goal line throw still remains fresh in fans' minds. On Sunday Night in Week 2, the two teams meet for only the second time since that game.
But, they couldn't look more different from their 2014 selves.
For the Seahawks, the personnel changes have been felt most heavily on the defensive side of the ball. Pete Carroll's defense is no longer anchored by Cliff Avril, Michael Bennett and Bruce Irvin up front and backed by Richard Sherman, Earl Thomas and Kam Chancellor in the secondary. These departures have been impactful, as seen in the nine games that Seattle gave up 27 or more points last season and the 25 points allowed in Atlanta during Week 1.
As for the Patriots, Tom Brady's absence means a drastically different type of offensive attack. This is not to say that the Patriots won't score points at the same rate they have over the past few seasons - they put up a respectable 21 points last week in Cam Newton's debut. We just expect a greater reliance on New England's many running backs and utility players.
Despite the turnover in key personnel, both teams maintain a level of continuity that sustains their status as contenders in 2020 - starting with the presence of Russell Wilson in Seattle and Bill Belechick in New England. These two leaders have helped their franchises transition into new eras with markedly different strengths brought to the table, compared to what they had in 2014.
Wilson has turned the once one-dimensional Seattle offense into one of the best in the game, without getting the same kind of help that he did from Marshawn Lynch back in the day. Belechick has helped keep the New England defense at an elite level despite losing two defensive coordinators to heading coaching jobs in two years and missing Dont'a Hightower and Patrick Chung this season due to COVID-19 opt-outs.
These new dynamics should make for a particularly exciting game when the Seahawks have the ball. Expect a very different looking contest between the Hawks and Patriots on Sunday night compared to what we witnessed just five years ago.
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