Patriots dealing with unexpected drama ahead of Seahawks Week 2 game

As hard as it might be, let's set aside the Seattle Seahawks for now. Yes, the team has some injury concerns heading into their Week 2 matchup with the New England Patriots, but at least the drama stops there. With the Patriots, it doesn't.

The issue is that the Patriots already have a bad offensive line, but they were counting on left tackle - and free agent signee - Chukwuma Okorafor to be good this season. Otherwise, they would not have inserted him as the starter in Week 1. The issue is that Okorafor had to be pulled after 12 snaps after he allowed three quarterback pressures in six pass-block snaps.

He somehow was given the grade of 0.0 on pass-block snaps, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required). This is - and this is not breaking news - extraordinarily low. In his place, New England played Vederian Lowe who allowed three total pressures in 23 pass-block snaps. Better, but not great.

Seahawks Week 2 opponent, the New England Patriots, has a player quit on the team

Still, that is not the biggest issue with Okorafor and the Patriots currently. He appears to have simply quit on his team late this week. New England has now placed him on the exempt/left squad list. That is not one you see every day.

To be fair to Okorafor, he spent his career at right tackle and the Patriots were trying to stuff him into a left tackle role because they had no other options. That is no excuse to quit on your teammates, but that is what Okorafor appears to have done. Maybe New England is better off without him, but Lowe is not a proven commodity at left tackle. In 2023, he allowed 38 total pressures in just 290 pass-block snaps.

This means the Seahawks should be able to get pressure on Patriots quarterback Jacoby Brissett from the right side of the defense. Edge rusher Uchenna Nwosu is still out in Week 2, but Boye Mafe should be productive. So should Derick Hall.

New England is likely to run the ball a lot, but if the Seahawks' tackling holds up as well as it did in Week 1, Seattle should be able to limit the Patriots' offense. Even if the Patriots play well defensively, Seattle should be able to put up enough points to outscore New England and come away with a Week 2 victory.

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