The Carroll-less Seattle Seahawks (1-0) travel to Foxboro, Massachusetts to take on the freshly de-Belichick-ed New England Patriots (1-0) at Gillette Stadium, marking the 20th matchup between these two storied franchises.

The Patriots haven’t had a regular season victory over the Seahawks since 2008, and curiously, there haven’t been any notable matchups in the series otherwise. Seattle, leading the series 10-8 excluding that one exhibition that doesn’t count, looks to carry its win streak into the Mike Macdonald era.

For the Patriots, the Jerod Mayo era got off to a hot start and a Gatorade bath as they stymied the Cincinnati Bengals on the road. By slowing down Jamarr Chase, giving a bleach blonde Joe Burrow fits, and riding the Rhamondre Stevenson train to the promised land, not only did the Patriots pull off the upset of the week, but much like Thanos snapping his fingers, their win eliminated approximately 40% of survivor league participants.

Despite eventually getting the intended result, the Seahawks week one matchup against the Denver Broncos did not exactly go according to plan. In nightmare fashion, the Seahawks started off by coughing up the ball in their own territory twice, each time resulting in a field goal. They also gave up two safeties in the first half. As bleak as things seemed for the Seattle offense, the defense was electric, shutting down Bo Nix and the Bronco offense, allowing only a single touchdown that came with just over two minutes left to play. The Seahawks offense, of course, finally found its footing in the second half as Geno Smith and Kenneth Walker started playing football, scoring 17 points with relative ease, beating the Broncos with a final score of 26-20.

Following a trade that sent Matthew Judon to the Atlanta Falcons, and a terrifying blood clot diagnosis that has Christian Barmore sidelined indefinitely, the Patriots defense looked ready for a race to the bottom before Week 1. Rookie quarterback Drake Maye seemed like the obvious choice to take over the offense, but with Jacoby Brissett being named starter, it seems the Patriots want to protect their future, perhaps hoping to fill out their offensive line in the upcoming NFL Draft. Despite all of this, what once looked like an easy win for the Seahawks on paper should not be taken lightly.

FanDuel currently favors the Seattle Seahawks by 3.5 points with an over/under set at 37.5 points.

Prediction: Seahawks defeat the Patriots 24-13.

Given the questionable status of running back Kenneth Walker III and right tackle George Fant, there is a real chance that the Seahawks offense looks a bit one dimensional this week, but the Patriots defense just doesn’t offer enough defensively to shut this dynamic Seattle offense down completely. Though Keion White is a real threat off the edge for the Patriots, and the safety tandem of Kyle Dugger and Jabrill Peppers should not be underestimated, the matchup to keep an eye on is cornerback Christian Gonzalez against Seahawks wide receiver DK Metcalf. Gonzalez, who covered Jamarr Chase on 20 of 28 snaps, did a fantastic job, limiting Chase to just three catches and 14 yards. However, Gonzalez’s job doesn’t get any easier this week lining up across from DK Metcalf, who is certain to be a hell of a lot more physical than Chase. Metcalf, who was covered by Patrick Surtain II of the Denver Broncos in week one, accounted for just three catches and 29 yards. Disappointing though these numbers may be to fantasy owners and prop bettors, the Seahawks overcame a slow start on offense and settled into a very run-heavy game plan in the second half, with Tyler Lockett taking the bulk of the targets that didn’t go to Ken Walker or Zach Charbonnet. Whether or not Walker suits up this week, do not expect the Seahawks to shy away from the ground game, however, with the Patriots being amongst the league’s worst at pressuring the quarterback so far this season, be on the lookout for Metcalf and Jaxon Smith-Njigba to get a lot more involved.

The Patriots defense has an opportunity to keep this game close, but on the other side of the ball, the Seahawks defense simply outclasses the New England offense. Jacoby Brissett will most certainly be under pressure all day, and Rhamondre Stevenson will not have the same room to run as last week. This Seattle defense, reborn under new head coach Mike Macdonald, has given us a big hint as to how disruptive it can be. In week one, it generated three turnovers, led the league in quarterback pressures, and allowed only 231 yards of total offense, much of which came on Denver’s final drive. Like Denver, this Patriots offense will not have an answer for Seattle’s suffocating defense.

Personally, I’m more than comfortable picking the Seahawks to cover the spread, as well as taking the Seahawks money line, but I’m wary of betting on the over/under here. The way I see it, the Seattle offense is still completely unpredictable and is just as likely to struggle against the Patriots defense as it is single-handedly going over 38+ points.

Kickoff is scheduled for 10:00 AM PT on FOX.