Overview
- Milton Williams returned from an ankle injury for the playoffs and has 17 Pro Football Focus–credited pressures, the most by a Patriots defensive tackle in any postseason this century.
- Christian Barmore and Williams rank No. 2 and No. 3 in defensive-tackle pressure rate this season at 13.6% and 12.4%, reinforcing their inside impact.
- New England has delivered an 11.1% sack rate and a 36.1% pressure rate this postseason while holding the Chargers, Texans, and Broncos to 8.7 points per game.
- Seattle quarterback Sam Darnold leads this postseason in expected points added per dropback, though his regular-season output under pressure ranked 28th among qualified passers.
- Key trench matchups feature New England’s tackles against right guard Anthony Bradford, PFF’s lowest-graded postseason pass blocker, with Seattle also starting a rookie left guard and a first-year center.