SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Studying the Seahawks’ defense over the last two weeks, the Patriots knew to expect blitz pressure in obvious passing situations, especially third-and-long.
But blitzing as early and often as Seattle did Sunday?
This was new.
Multiple Patriots players admitted they were caught off-guard by the Seahawks’ initial game plan in Super Bowl LX, which helped set the table for a 29-13 Seattle win. The Pats went scoreless and had 78 total yards through three quarters. Drake Maye took six sacks and was under pressure on more than half of his dropbacks, per Next Gen Stats.
“We saw a good amount of, (a) variety of blitzes,” Maye told reporters. “I wouldn’t say they’re a huge pressure team, but obviously they had some success tonight. They were heating us up.”
Maye felt pressure early, finishing the Patriots’ opening drive with a throwaway against an all-out blitz, AKA cover zero, which generated instant, unblocked pressure.
“They brought (cover) zero early in the game, which was a switch-up from what they had shown,” Pats backup quarterback Joshua Dobbs told the Herald. “They’d like to bring (cover) zero, but maybe not that early. This is the Super Bowl, though. You’re gonna get some different looks.”
Another wrinkle surfaced on Maye’s second sack taken late in the first quarter. Seahawks cornerback Devon Witherspoon dropped Maye for a 10-yard loss on a rare blitz from his nickelback position over the slot. According to Pro Football Focus, Witherspoon blitzed just 21 times this season, about one per game, and hadn’t rushed the passer since Week 16.
Witherspoon blitzed six times Sunday and generated four pressures, according to Next Gen Stats, including a QB hit that caused Maye’s pick-six in the second half.
“(Safety Nick Emmanwori) plays the nickel position a lot, and he’s more of the blitzer. Witherspoon’s more the cover guy, and they brought him a little bit more than they had shown on film,” Dobbs said. “(That)’s not to say we shouldn’t have picked it up or had answers for it, but that was one of the wrinkles that they had.”
Schematically, the Seahawks overloaded the left side of the Patriots’ offensive line early with extra blitzers, then sent added rushers to Maye’s right on the Witherspoon sack. After that sack, the Pats adjusted, Dobbs said, by focusing on small gains that would keep them out of third-and-long snaps. Instead, they punted six straight times around a possession that kneeled the clock out before halftime.
At the beginning, the Patriots hoped to attack Seattle’s two-high coverages early in the game, another area where they struggled. Maye’s only long completion through three quarters, before the Pats trailed by multiple scores, was a play-action pass with six offensive linemen on the field that led to a 21-yard gain for Kayshon Boutte. However, the Patriots never returned to that jumbo package, and their receivers struggled to win what became a spread-style game against the NFL’s best pass defense by DVOA.
“We knew when they were going to (blitz) pressure, so (we were) trying to have answers for those. Then on third downs, they really made it a 1-on-1 game,” Dobbs said. “That’s what they showed on film, and they did it again tonight.”
Pats center Garrett Bradbury said the offense knew the Seahawks could dip into the type of overload pressures they used to win the Super Bowl, but didn’t block them well enough to compete.
“We knew they had it. They pressured at a high clip in the first half, and they had a good plan,” he said. “They’re a good defense. Certainly, give them credit.”