The Patriots’ fairytale season isn’t ready to be over.

With the Patriots Super Bowl-bound, fans have questions about how to stop Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, what’s leading to Drake Maye’s struggles and Robert Kraft’s Pro Football Hall of Fame candidacy.

Let’s answer those and more in this week’s Patriots mailbag.

@DeonteFord1: Would you say this Super Bowl is more 50/50 or do you see a clear winner?

Let’s start off with the betting line. The Seahawks are favored by 4.5 points. The line opened with the Patriots as 3.5-point underdogs.

That means that oddsmakers believe the Seahawks have a 60-to-65% chance of winning, which feels fair.

That being said, it’s really, truly hard to predict the Patriots this season, if only because they keep on winning. They’ve won 16 of their last 17 games now, and the competition is only getting greater and greater.

Really early thoughts on this matchup: Season-wide (including playoffs), the Seahawks have had a top-10 offense and top-2 defense, and the Patriots have had a top-4 offense and top-3 defense.

In the postseason alone, the Seahawks have the top offense and a top-3 defense. The Patriots have a below-average offense and a top-2 defense.

So, they seem pretty evenly matched, but the questions about the Patriots’ level of competition carry into the postseason. The offense has struggled against elite defenses, but two of the three games have come in inclement weather. Will the offense right itself in Santa Clara, even against a top unit like the Seahawks?

I don’t know if I see a clear winner, but I do understand why the Seahawks are currently favored. They’ve looked like the more dominant team this postseason, but I question how well they’ll move the ball on the Patriots’ defense, especially on the ground.

@Ol_Uncle_Jim: Do the Patriots blitz the hell out of Darnold? Feels like it’s a bit risky, but it’s been working for them

Darnold was solid against the blitz during the regular season. Through two postseason games, he’s the top-ranked passer in EPA/play when blitzed.

So, there’s some risk involved. But I also think the Patriots need to stick with what’s been working against the Chargers, Texans and Broncos. The Patriots have increased their blitz rate from 28% in the postseason to 42% in the playoffs, and their pressure rate on blitzes has slightly increased, as well.

I think the Patriots can get pressure without blitzing, but they’re at their best when they can overwhelm a quarterback with bodies. And the secondary has held up well so far, despite having fewer defenders in coverage.

@FrankiePrend: Who covers Kupp and who covers JSN?

Smith-Njigba’s slot rate is just 23.2 on the season, but he’s aligned in the slot on slightly more snaps this postseason.

Cooper Kupp aligns in the slot on 46.4% of snaps. Rashid Shaheed is inside on 27.2% of snaps.

Christian Gonzalez and Carlton Davis III are the Patriots’ outside cornerbacks. Marcus Jones is their top slot cornerback. Gonzalez has played just 38 snaps this season inside. Davis has been in the slot even less this year.

I’d try to stick Gonzalez on Smith-Njigba as much as possible and let Jones cover him when he goes inside. Then that leaves Davis on Shaheed most of the time, and Jones on Kupp.

It’s a really fascinating matchup between JSN and Gonzalez for a number of reasons. The Patriots selected Gonzalez just three picks before the Seahawks took JSN in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft. Smith-Njigba might just be the best wide receiver in the NFL, and Gonzalez is easily a top-5 cornerback.

@gcabreu87: What do you think caused Drake’s drop in production? He played against good defenses during the regular season and produced more. #MailDoug

I think it’s a combination of Maye playing against even better defenses, plus the adverse weather conditions.

I don’t want to make excuses for Maye, because he has seen a drop in efficiency and production, but he and the Patriots only care about winning and advancing right now. And he’s been good enough with his arm and legs to advance.

Maye couldn’t afford any turnovers in Sunday’s win over the Broncos, and he protected the ball well. He also provided value with his mobility.

He will absolutely need to perform better as a passer in the Super Bowl, however.

@raid18: With the Hall of Fame vote coming next week in Santa Clara, do you think the fact that the Patriots will be there finally pushes Kraft over the top? It’s going to be right in the voters’ faces, I just don’t see how they deny him.

It’s a great year for Robert Kraft to be a finalist. Not only are the Patriots back in the Super Bowl, but he made it for the first time without Bill Belichick on staff.

Kraft made a mistake in fast-tracking Jerod Mayo’s hiring last season. But he also expeditiously corrected the error by hiring Mike Vrabel this offseason. The move can be viewed as an easy, obvious choice, but other teams don’t move so swiftly when it’s obvious that they’ve made the wrong hire.

@cheezbrgr_posse: Why aren’t they running Henderson outside, where he’s had the biggest impact this season??

Well, they weren’t really using Henderson at all in the AFC title game. He only played four snaps.

I think it’s pretty obvious that the Patriots are riding the hot hand right now with Rhamondre Stevenson, and with the way he’s running, you can’t really blame them.

Henderson did also get some outside carries in the divisional round but only gained 14 yards on seven carries. He picked up 7 yards on five carries to the outside in the wild-card round.

Stevenson is currently better in blitz pickup, as a receiver and as a ball carrier. Henderson is still the bigger play threat, but he hasn’t had a 20+ yard run since Week 15.