Patriots-Seahawks Week 2 news, notes, and fun facts
FOXBORO -- Jerod Mayo picked up a win in his first game as head coach of the New England Patriots in Week 1. He's now looking to match wits with another rookie head coach coming off a Week 1 win in Seattle's Mike MacDonald.
Sunday's Seahawks-Patriots matchup at Gillette Stadium will feature the two youngest coaches in the NFL. Mayo, 38, held the title of "Youngest Head Coach in the NFL" after taking over for Bill Belichick, but held it for less than three weeks. MacDonald, 37, is eight months younger than Mayo, and took that title when he replaced Pete Carroll in Seattle.
Fittingly, the two youngest coaches in the NFL replaced two of the oldest in Belichick and Carroll. And like Mayo, MacDonald cut his teeth on the defensive side of the ball, most recently as the defensive coordinator of the Baltimore Ravens.
If the Patriots get Mayo a win on Sunday, he'd be the first Patriots head coach to start his career with a 2-0 record since -- wait for it -- Pete Carroll won his first four games with New England in 1997.
But Sunday's matchup goes much further than just a couple of green head coaches. Here's everything you need to know about Week 2's Patriots-Seahawks clash in Foxboro.
Patriots vs. Seahawks
- Sunday will mark the 20th meeting between the Patriots and the Seahawks, with Seattle bringing a 10-9 edge into the matchup. That record includes New England's Super Bowl XLIX victory over Seattle.
- This is the first meeting of the two teams since the Patriots lost to the Seahawks, 35-30, on Sunday Night Football on Nov. 20, 2020 in Seattle. Their previous matchup was also featured on Sunday Night Football, with the Patriots losing that game, 31-24, on Nov. 13, 2016 at Gillette Stadium.
- The Patriots are 4-6 overall in home games against Seattle. New England is 1-1 against the Seahawks at Gillette Stadium,
- The Patriots and Seahawks matched up 12 times in a 14-year span from 1980-93, but the two teams have faced off only six times since that run.
- Due to a scheduling quirk in 1993, the Seahawks are the only non-divisional team that the Patriots have played twice in the regular season in the same year. The NFL's 16-game schedule was played over an 18-week span that year, and each team received two bye weeks.
- Sunday's game will be the third time that the Patriots host the Seahawks in their first home game of the season. New England opened at home against Seattle in 1984 and 1992, winning the 1984 game, 38-23, but losing in 1992 by a score of 10-6.
Patriots-Seahawks Connections
- Tight end Pharaoh Brown, who had a 58-yard touchdown for the Patriots in Week 3 against the Jets last season, is now a member of the Seattle Seahawks. He was inactive for Week 1 due to a foot injury.
- Pete Carroll is no longer the head coach of the Seahawks, but he remains with the franchise as Seattle's executive vice president of football operations. Carroll was head coach of the Patriots from 1997-99, amassing a 27-21 record in the regular season while going 1-2 in the playoffs.
- Patriots practice squad receiver Matt Landers got his first NFL contract from the Seahawks as an undrafted free agent in 2023. He was waived by Seattle ahead of last season but signed to the practice squad, where he remained until last fall.
Other Patriots-Seahawks tidbits
- The Patriots are looking for their first 2-0 start to a season since 2019, when New England began the campaign 8-0. The Patriots have gone 2-0 to start a season 15 times in franchise history.
- If the Patriots hold the Seahawks to 10 or fewer points on Sunday, it will be the first time the team has started a season holding two straight opponents to 10 or fewer points since 2019. The New England defense held the Steelers and the Dolphins to a combined three points over the first two games that season.
- If the Patriots have a second straight turnover-free game on Sunday, it will be the first time they've gone back-to-back games without a turnover since going three straight games without a turnover during the 2022 season.
- The Patriots rushed for 170 yards in Week 1. The last time the team rushed for at least 170 yards in back-to-back games to open a season was in 1974, when they ran for 196 yards against Miami and followed it up with 173 rushing yards against the New York Giants.