Patriots may have found the perfect way to break Sam Darnold in the Super Bowl

The New England Patriots advanced to their twelfth Super Bowl on Sunday after beating the Broncos by a score of 10-7. While the elements played a major role in the second half, the Patriots' defense stepped up in a major way after Denver scored a touchdown on their second drive of the game.

They rallied to hold Jarrett Stidham to just 75 yards from 15 completions and nabbed an interception after their touchdown drive.

Beating the Stidham-led Broncos was an expectation, no doubt. The New England defense, however, has pulled together an incredible trio of playoff games. They've allowed just 8.7 PPG and have averaged four sacks per contest, forcing at least one turnover in every game.

While the Seahawks will be a far more difficult matchup than any New England has faced on their playoff path thus far, Zak Kuhr may have found the key to disrupting Sam Darnold and the Seahawks' high-octane offense.

Putting pressure on Sam Darnold will be key for the Patriots to pull off the win

The Patriots mostly shut down Stidham on Sunday, except on the second drive of the game. As mentioned, Darnold is a far better player, but most quarterbacks struggle under pressure, and Stidham did.

While he sported a 76.2% completion rate with a touchdown and no turnovers with clean pockets, under pressure was a different story. His final numbers under pressure were a single completion for four yards and a pair of turnovers, a steep drop-off compared to his otherwise strong performance when kept clean.

Continuing to pressure Darnold will be key, but it will need to come from a natural four-man pass rush to be effective. He was sacked only once across Seattle's three losses this season, and he maintains a 62% completion rate when blitzed.

Harold Landry will likely be able to return by Super Bowl week, and K'Lavon Chaisson has had an exceptional playoffs. UDFA Elijah Ponder has stepped up as a solid third pass rusher on the edge. Milton Williams, Christian Barmore, and Cory Durden will all need to continue their exceptional play to get the best of Sam Darnold.

The Patriots allow 17.5 PPG when they record four or more sacks compared to 19.2 PPG allowed when they have fewer than four. It shouldn't come as a surprise that more sacks mean fewer points, but putting pressure on Darnold will be key to New England's success, as the Vikings' demise last season came from Darnold's inability to cope with pressure.

A lack of a Seattle running game works in the Patriots' favor

The Seahawks will also be without Zach Charbonnet for the Super Bowl. Kenneth Walker got the full workload on Sunday night against the Rams, and the Seahawks' run game was disappointing.

The former MSU star ran 19 times for 62 yards (3.3 YPC), while George Holani, Ashton Jeanty's predecessor at Boise State, managed four yards from three carries. It shouldn't come as a surprise that Klint Kubiak's offense will lean on Darnold, who just had 346 yards and 3 touchdowns.

Bringing the heat on Darnold will be huge for New England. Milton Williams snagged two in last year's contest with the Eagles, so repeating that feat with his new team would be a welcome case of deja vu. If New England wants a chance against the high-octane Seahawks offense, pressure will be key.