The New England Patriots are getting prepared to face off against the Seattle Seahawks in the Super Bowl, and they will have to be prepared for what they bring on both sides of the ball. The Seahawks' offense in particular has been dangerous this season, and the connection between Sam Darnold and Jaxon Smith-Njigba was strong throughout the year.

As for Smith-Njigba, he was one of the top wide receivers in the league, and he put up big numbers in almost every game that he played. There's no doubt that Christian Gonzalez will have to match up against him during the Super Bowl, and days before the game, he gave the receiver his props.

“Jaxson is real good. Elite. He’s a real good route runner. They line him up everywhere… I mean, he’s just able to do everything. Smooth. Makes it look like he’s not even running,” Gonzalez said.

Article Continues Below

It will not just be up to Gonzalez to try to contain Smith-Njigba, as it will take the effort from the entire secondary to keep track of him. It will also be up to the Patriots' defensive line to put pressure on Darnold to make sure that he can't get the ball to him.

Gonzalez will be key, especially with the stat that he's only allowed 44.6% of passes thrown his way to be completed. Funny enough, the league average is 64.3%.

Milton Williams spoke about trying to keep Darnold on his toes and mentioned that they need to “speed him up, get him off the spot, and try to take advantage and make him put the ball in harm's way.”

If the Patriots are able to do their job on defense, they'll have to execute on offense, which will be up to Drake Maye. In the end, it could end up being a battle of the defenses.