Can Pats QB Maye exploit Seahawks’ stellar secondary?

The matchup between New England Patriots cornerback Christian Gonzalez and Seattle Seahawks star wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba may be the one we’re all watching in next weekend’s Super Bowl, but Boston Globe senior NFL writer Ben Volin has his eyes on quarterback Drake Maye’s potential to exploit a stellar Seahawks secondary.

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Maye led the NFL in completion percentage (72%) during the regular season. He hasn’t been as sharp through two postseason games (59% against Houston and 47% against Denver), though that’s against a top-five passing defense with sticky corners and the league-leading defense in sacks, respectively. Oh, and there was a blizzard. That feels important.

Mostly, Volin has been impressed that Maye’s regular season was so sharp and explosive.

“It wasn’t dink and dunk, or horizontal passes,” Volin said during an appearance on last week’s edition of The Huddle on Seattle Sports’ Bump and Stacy. “He was really pushing the ball down the field. He was one of the two or three best deep-ball passers in the NFL.

“This is a big-play element that’s been missing from the Patriots’ offense, not only since (Tom) Brady was here, but really in the last couple years of Brady. So it’s been awhile. … Watching him just effortlessly push the ball down the field, and fearlessly do it as well, has been really impressive.”

Re-examining the film from Seattle’s NFC Championship win over the Los Angeles Rams proves an especially fascinating challenge. The Seahawks’ top-scoring defense allowed far too many explosive plays from Matthew Stafford – this after not allowing a play of more than 20 yards in a month.

Will the Seahawks slip back into good form against the Pats, or could there be a fault to exploit? Pats fans are certainly hoping for the latter, and we’ll be sure to ask plenty of questions about that potential in Santa Clara.

Bump and Stacy will be broadcasting live Wednesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Super Bowl’s Radio Row.

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