Seahawks at Patriots: 5 takeaways from Seattle unexpected win

Nov 13, 2016; Foxborough, MA, USA; Seattle Seahawks offensive guard Germain Ifedi (76) reacts after defeating the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium. Seattle Seahawks defeated the Patriots 31-24. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 13, 2016; Foxborough, MA, USA; Seattle Seahawks offensive guard Germain Ifedi (76) reacts after defeating the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium. Seattle Seahawks defeated the Patriots 31-24. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports /
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Nov 13, 2016; Foxborough, MA, USA; Seattle Seahawks offensive guard Germain Ifedi (76) reacts after defeating the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium. Seattle Seahawks defeated the Patriots 31-24. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 13, 2016; Foxborough, MA, USA; Seattle Seahawks offensive guard Germain Ifedi (76) reacts after defeating the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium. Seattle Seahawks defeated the Patriots 31-24. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports /

5. What a massive (and unexpected) win!

The Seahawks were 6.5 point underdogs. They were going up against Tom Brady on the road and without their best pass rusher. The Seahawks were banged up, and the Patriots were healthy and coming off their bye week.

It was a recipe for a predictable loss. No one would have been surprised to see Seattle leave Foxboro with another tally in L column.

And yet, that didn’t happen. The Seahawks went into New England and beat the best team in the AFC. The offense clicked, scoring on almost every drive. The defense came up big over and over including collecting two turnovers and getting a fourth down stop at the end of game.

The Seahawks move to 6-2-1 with a clear gap between them and the 3rd seed in the NFC playoff picture. The battle home-field advantage in the playoffs has been reduced to a two-team race between Seattle and Dallas.

Next: Seahawks improving according to DVOA

From this point on, Seattle’s schedule eases up considerably. They’re through their toughest stretch, and are starting to get healthy. This is a team poised to make another deep run the playoffs.