It's the first time since '04 that the Patriots went into the playoffs (never mind the Super Bowl) with their defense being a strength. This defense is actually really, really good. BB takes away what teams do best, and no matter how hard they try, he's able to do it effectively about 99% of the time. I imagine that means he's going to focus on eliminating Lynch (the Pats run defense has always been better against big, physical backs anyway. It's the smaller, faster guys that give them fits) and stopping Wilson from getting outside the pocket. If the Pats do that, I don't see the Seahawks offense, specifically that receiving core, beating a healthy Patriots secondary with Revis, Browner, McCourty, etc. all playing very, very good football at the moment.
IMO, the question is going to be our offense vs. their defense. Will the Pats be able to come up with a game plan to put points on the board. Suffice it to say I'm optimistic on that front. Will they put up 45 like they did today? Obviously very doubtful, but if there is anything we've learned this season, and even more so in the past two weeks, the Pats offense is not a one-trick pony. If they need to beat you by dropping back and throwing on every down, they'll do it. If they need to beat you by pounding it down your throat, they have the ability to do that too. Only question is will whichever game plan they choose be the right one to beat the Seahawks defense, and if it isn't, will they be able to adjust and switch on the fly to something that will, like they were able to do against the Ravens last week?
No matter what happens, this is going to be some serious, high level, chess playing by two very good coaches on the biggest stage in the world. I feel like this is a good matchup for the Patriots. Better than Green Bay would have been, but we'll have to wait and see how it plays out. It's going to be a long two weeks, I know that much.