Perhaps there’s no better way to show that football is the ultimate team sport than to note that the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots landed just one single player between them on the Associated Press All-Pro First Team this season.
Not even counting specialists — just offense and defense — seven teams had multiple players recognized as the best at their positions in the NFL while the two Super Bowl teams that combined for 28 regular-season wins combined for just one first-team All-Pro selection (Seahawks WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba).
The Seahawks did have three second-team All-Pro selections on defense in DT Leonard Williams, LB Ernest Jones IV and CB Devon Witherspoon, plus punter Michael Dickson, while Patriots QB Drake Maye and punt returner Marcus Jones made the second team.
But even still, the Atlanta Falcons, who missed the playoffs and fired their coach, had as many All-Pro selections on offense/defense (5!) as the two Super Bowl teams combined.
That’s wild, but it underscores the point — a successful football team can’t truly be quantified by the sum of its parts. Coaching, scouting, game-planning, how all 11 players on the field work together, communicate and complement each other, the discipline to details and execution, depth and other intangibles all factor into the equation.
Super Bowl LX Matchup Breakdown
That said, let’s break down how the Seahawks and Patriots stack up to each other at every position nonetheless!
Quarterback
New England and Seattle were among the best offensive teams in the NFL this season, with the Patriots ranking second in scoring (28.8 points per game) and third in total offense (379.4 yards per game) while the Seahawks were third in scoring (28.4 PPG) and eighth in total offense (351.4 YPG).
Both teams have excellent quarterback play to thank for that.
Patriots QB Drake Maye finished just one first-place vote behind the Rams’ Matthew Stafford for the MVP in his second season, as the No. 3 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft broke out in a big way in 2025.
Maye led the NFL in completion percentage (72%), passer rating (113.5), adjusted QBR (77.1), total offense (4,844 yards, including his 450 rushing yards) and yards per pass attempt (8.9) during the regular season, while finishing fourth in passing yards (4,394) and third in passing touchdowns (31). He also threw just 8 picks and added 4 rushing TDs.
So far in the postseason, he threw for 268 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT while rushing for 66 yards in a 16-3 win over the Chargers, threw for 179 yards, 3 TDs and 1 INT in the 28-16 win over the Texans and then did just enough (86 yards passing, 65 yards and a TD rushing) in the 10-7 blizzard bowl with the Broncos in the AFC championship game where neither team mustered much of any offense.
Meanwhile, Seahawks QB Sam Darnold backed up his delayed breakout season with the Vikings last year, passing for 4,048 yards, 25 TDs and 14 INTs. Most importantly, he’s answered the question of whether he can win the big games.
Darnold, the No. 3 overall pick from the 2018 draft, completed 25 of 36 passes for 346 yards, 3 TDs and 0 INTs to outduel Stafford, the NFL MVP, in a 31-27 NFC championship game win over the Rams.
Both quarterbacks are among the best downfield passers in the league. In terms of completions of at least 20 yards — granted, that factors in yards after the catch and is not a pure indicator of downfield passing — Maye was second in the league with 67 while Darnold was tied for fifth with 57. On completions of 40+ yards, Darnold was tops with 12 (while Maye had 6).
So who has the advantage heading into Super Bowl LX?
Edge For Super Bowl LX: Patriots
It’s close — very, very close. Both are capable of hitting on big strikes to swing momentum, but Darnold (14 INTS during the regular season) seems more likely to make a critical mistake. Also, Maye’s mobility and rushing ability is an added bonus.
Running Back
This is another fairly even matchup.
The Patriots have the most dynamic running back in this game with rookie TreVeyon Henderson, who had 911 rushing yards and 9 TDs on 5.1 yards per carry during the season with 35 catches for 221 yards and a score. He packed a lot of that production into a few true breakout games, flashing his elite potential. But he’s been curiously quiet in the postseason so far with just 57 rushing yards and 2 catches for 7 yards in three games.
Rhamondre Stevenson has more than twice as many rushing attempts this postseason (51 to 24) and had 25 carries to Henderson’s 3 in the AFC championship game, though the rookie had been on the injury report with a shoulder ailment that week. Stevenson is serviceable and rushed for 603 yards and 7 TDs on 4.6 YPC 14 games this season with 32 receptions for 345 yards and 2 TDs. He’s rushed for 194 yards with 86 receiving yards in the three playoff games.
Seattle did have the better tandem overall with Kenneth Walker III and Zach Charbonnet, but Charbonnet sustained a season-ending torn ACL in the divisional round vs. San Francisco. That’s a big loss as he was an effective goal-line back with 12 TDs and 730 yards overall during the season.
Walker rushed for 1,027 yards and 5 TDs on 4.6 YPC during the season and added 31 catches for 282 yards as the more effective pass-catcher of the two.
Shouldering a bigger load without his backfield mate, Walker was excellent in the divisional round win over the 49ers with 116 rushing yards and 3 TDs plus 29 receiving yards and followed with 111 combined yards and 1 TD in the NFC championship game.
Second-year RB George Holani got just 3 carries in that last game (plus 3 receptions) and had just 22 during the regular season, so expect Seattle to continue to lean heavily on Walker.
Edge For Super Bowl LX: Patriots
If Seattle had its main backfield duo at full strength, we’d have given it the advantage here. But if Walker gets dinged up at all Sunday the Seahawks would have to turn to a totally unproven Holani, who went undrafted in 2024. Veteran Cam Akers, who was signed to the practice squad in November, could also be in the mix if needed.
The Patriots need to get more out of Henderson, though. He’s a dynamic talent who proved it time and again when given opportunities during the season.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Jaxon Smith-Njigba wasn’t only a first-team All-Pro pick but was also named the AP Offensive Player of the Year after elevating to elite status in his third season with 119 receptions for an NFL-best 1,793 yards and 10 TDs.
And he was exceptional in the NFC championship game with 10 catches for 153 yards and a TD vs. the Rams.
The Seahawks complement JSN with veteran Cooper Kupp (47-593-2), who is simply a different player than his peak years with the Rams, and emerging second-year tight end AJ Barner (52-519-6). Rashid Shaheed was acquired mid-season from the Saints and makes his biggest mark as a return specialist, but he did have a 51-yard reception early in the NFC championship game.
But this is a very concentrated passing attack for Seattle with Smith-Njigba, Kupp, Walker and Barner drawing 39 of Darnold’s 50 passes this postseason.
The Patriots made a big move this offseason to sign well-traveled star WR Stefon Diggs as a free agent and bet on his ability to return to form at 32 years old after a season-ending torn ACL last year. That bet paid off as Diggs totaled 85 catches for 1,013 yards and 4 TDs, though he’s had a quiet postseason with just 73 yards and a TD over three games. He’s not quite the same talent he was at his peak and will have a tough matchup, especially if paired up with Witherspoon.
Maye’s next favorite target is veteran tight end Hunter Henry, who had one of the best seasons of his 10-year career with 60 catches for 768 yards (a career-high) and 7 TDs. The rest of the Patriots’ receiving corps includes 2023 sixth-round picks Kayshon Boutte (33-551-6 during the season) and DeMario Douglas (31-447-3) and eccentric journeyman Mack Hollins (46-550-2), who is on his fifth team in five years.
To say that Maye maximized the collective potential of that motley group is an understatement.
Edge For Super Bowl LX: Seahawks
Smith-Njigba is the only true game-changing difference-maker at WR for either team, so this is an easy call even if the Patriots have better depth at these spots overall. Barner is also an underrated weapon even though he has just 2 catches for 13 yards this postseason.
Offensive Line
These teams had two of the worst offensive lines in the NFL last year, with PFF ranking the Patriots dead-last and the Seahawks 29th.
Both invested significant resources to upgrade and did to some degree, though neither unit would be considered elite.
The Patriots replaced four starters up front this offseason, using the No. 4 overall draft pick on left tackle Will Campbell (from LSU) and a third-round pick on left guard Jared Wilson (Georgia) while signing free agent center Garrett Bradbury (a former first-round pick and veteran Vikings starter) to a two-year, $12-million contract and experienced right tackle Morgan Moses (with 158 career starts for the Commanders, Ravens and Jets) to a three-year, $24-million deal. Mike Onwenu returned as the starting right guard, meanwhile.
Per Sharp Football Analysis, the Patriots were nonetheless tied for 23rd in allowed pressure rate (37.7%) while Maye was sacked 47 times during the season (fourth-most) and 15 times in three playoff games.
That said, the Patriots’ ground attack was much more effective in 2025.
New England had the sixth-best rushing offense in the league at 128.9 yards per game, while Stevenson bounced back from a career-worst 3.9 yards per carry in 2024 and managing just 2 runs of at least 20 yards despite getting the bulk of the carries to 4.6 YPC with 7 runs of 20-plus yards (tied for 9th-most in the league). All told, the Patriots went from just 9 rushing plays of at least 20 yards last season (including 3 from Maye) to 16 this season, ranking fourth.
The Seahawks’ entire starting offensive line was actually developed in-house, and the team used its first-round pick (No. 18 overall) on LG Grey Zabel (North Dakota State), who was a finalist for NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year.
The rest of the unit includes LT Charles Cross (1st-round pick, 9th overall, in 2022), C Jalen Sundell (signed as an undrafted free agent in 2024), RG Anthony Bradford (4th-round pick in 2023) and RT Abraham Lucas (3rd-round pick in 2022).
Per Sharp Football Analysis, Seattle tied for ninth in allowed pressure rate at 35.1% while the Seahawks leaned heavily on their ground attack and ranked second in the league with 18 runs of 20+ yards.
Edge For Super Bowl LX: Seahawks
The left side of the Patriots line with those two rookies should get better in the coming years, but the reality remains that Maye has been sacked 5 times in all three playoff games so far.
Defensive Line/Edge Rushers
Statistically speaking, these defenses were pretty close to each other during the season with the Seahawks just a little better on paper.
Total Defense: Seattle (285.6 YPG, 6th in NFL), Patriots (295.2 YPG, 8th)
Scoring Defense: Seattle (17.2 PPG, 1st), Patriots (18.8 PPG, 4th)
But there is the whole matter of the Patriots playing an improbably favorable lineup of opposing quarterbacks full of backups and soon-to-be-backups. And the Seahawks took their defensive play to another level down the stretch with only the Rams (the NFL’s top offense) able to have any notable success against the unit.
Over their last eight games, here are the points per game Seattle has allowed: 0 (Vikings), 9 (Falcons), 16 (Colts), 37* (Rams in OT), 10 (Panthers), 3 (49ers), 6 (49ers in divisional round), 27 (Rams in NFC championship game).
The Seahawks are above average at every level of the defense, starting with a stout defensive line led on the interior by second-team All-Pro defensive tackle Leonard Williams and 2024 first-round draft pick Byron Murphy II, who each had 62 tackles and 7 sacks during the season while Williams added another this postseason.
Seattle made a splash in free agency to land veteran defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence, who earned his fifth Pro Bowl selection with 56 tackles, 6 sacks, 11 tackles for loss and 3 forced fumbles. He’s been even better in the postseason with 2 sacks and 3 forced fumbles in two games.
Those three are a game-wrecking trio supported by a depth of other contributors, including outside linebacker/edge rusher Uchenna Nwosu, who chipped in 7 sacks this season.
For New England, it also starts in the middle of the line with Milton Williams, the star DT who had 2 sacks in the Super Bowl last year for the Eagles and signed a four-year, $104-million contract with the Patriots in the offseason. He had 29 tackles, 3.5 sacks and 8 TFLs and has 2 sacks in the playoffs.
Christian Barmore (29 tackles, 4 TFLs, 2 sacks and 1 playoff sack) is another key cog at DT.
Meanwhile, the Patriots found great success off the edges with free agent additions Harold Landry (49 tackles, 10 TFLs, 8.5 sacks) and K’Lavon Chaisson (31-10-7.5), who has 3 sacks this postseason. But Landry missed the AFC championship game and is questionable with a knee injury after getting in a limited practice Friday.
Edge For Super Bowl LX: Seahawks
This one was close, as well. But we like the Seahawks interior disrupters just a little bit more, Lawrence is dialed in this postseason while getting his first shot at a Super Bowl in his 12th season, and Landry’s status is concerning.
Linebacker
There is no dropoff at any level of the defense for Seattle, which has a couple more studs in the middle at linebacker in Ernest Jones IV and Drake Thomas.
Jones, a second-team All-Pro selection, came over to Seattle in a mid-season trade with the Titans last season, and he truly settled in as a do-everything star for the Seahawks this season with a team-high 126 tackles, 5 interceptions, 7 passes defended and 4 TFLs in 15 games. He added a forced fumble and interception in the first playoff game.
And Thomas has gone from undrafted in 2023 to key contributor on a Super Bowl team, ranking second on the Seahawks with 96 tackles and 10 TFLs while also totaling 8 PDs.
Overall, Seattle ranked third in the NFL against the run, giving up 91.9 YPG on the ground.
For New England, LB Robert Spillane has been one of the team’s most impactful free agent pickups, racking up 97 tackles, 2 INTs, 5 PDs, 4 TFLs and a FF in just 13 games. But he too is listed as questionable with an ankle injury and was limited in practice Friday.
The Patriots do have two other capable interior LBs in Christian Elliss (94 tackles) and Jack Gibbens (81 tackles, 8 TFLs), but Spillane is key for New England and it sounds like he’s going to play.
Edge For Super Bowl LX: Seahawks
Again, both sides are strong here, but Seattle is just a little more dynamic at the position.
Defensive Back
New England (193.5 YPG) and Seattle (193.9 YPG) were almost even in terms of pass defense, ranking just inside the top 10 in the NFL.
But the Seahawks were fifth in the league with 18 interceptions during the regular season (with the Patriots at 10). A third of those came from the aforementioned linebackers, but Seattle’s secondary is opportunistic and impressive as well.
As noted, CB Devon Witherspoon was a second-team All-Pro selection and has been a Pro Bowl pick in all three seasons since the Seahawks drafted him No. 5 overall out of Illinois. He had 1 INT and 7 PDs but more to the point was stifling in coverage, while also totaling 72 tackles and 2 TFLs in just 12 games while playing aggressive to the ball at all times.
Fellow CBs Josh Jobe and Riq Woolen each had 1 INT and 12 PDs a piece during the season while Woolen has added 4 more PDs in the two playoff games.
The safeties earn their share of the spotlight too. Coby Bryant had 4 picks and 7 PDs with 66 tackles and 4 TFLs this season, rookie nickel Nick Emmanwori (the 35th overall pick in the 2025 draft) made an instant impact with 81 tackles, a pick, 11 PDs (plus 4 already in two playoff games) and 9 TFLs, and Julian Love was limited to eight games but had an INT and 6 PDs. Emmanwori had an injury scare this week with a sprained ankle but is officially off the injury report and good to go.
The Patriots have one of the top CBs in football in Christian Gonzalez, who had 69 tackles and 10 PDs in 14 games, 9 tackles and a FF in the playoff win over Houston and then 6 tackles and the game-sealing INT vs. Denver. But again, it goes beyond the traditional stats for Gonzalez.
Meanwhile, nickel Marcus Jones is one of the most underrated players in the league. In addition to being an elite return specialist, he had 65 tackles, 3 INTs (including one returned for TD), a team-high 11 PDs, 8 TFLs and 2 sacks, had another pick-6 in the playoffs vs. Houston and has 4 PDs in the three postseason games.
Rounding out the core of the secondary for New England is CB Carlton Davis (69 tackles and 10 PDs), S Jaylinn Hawkins (71 tackles, team-high 4 INTs, 6 PDs, 3 TFLs and a FF) and rookie S Craig Woodson (79 tackles, 4 TFLs, 3 PDs).
Edge For Super Bowl LX: Push
Witherspoon and Gonzalez are both elite CB1s, Emmanwori and Jones are both highly impactful nickels and the rest of the cast is solid on both sides.
Special Teams
Jones was second-team All-Pro at punt returner for New England after earning a first-team All-Pro nod there in 2022. This season, he had 2 punt return TDs, while Antonio Gibson had a kickoff return TD but sustained a season-ending torn ACL in Week 5.
The Patriots drafted kicker Andy Borregales in the sixth round last spring and he converted on 27 of 32 field goals and 53 of 55 PATs as a rookie, going 4-4 from 50+. In the playoffs he’s 4-6, but both misses came from beyond 40 yards in the brutal weather of that AFC championship game in Denver.
Bryce Baringer averages 47.4 yards per punt while pinning 21 of his 51 punts inside the 20-yard line.
For Seattle, Shaheed had a 95-yard kickoff return TD against the 49ers in the divisional round and also had a punt return TD during the season. He’s an X-factor when he touches the ball.
The Seahawks have elite specialists in general with kicker Jason Myers (41-48 on FGs, 48-48 on PATs) and second-team All-Pro punter Michael Dickson (49.0 yards per punt, 20 of 52 punts inside the 20).
Edge For Super Bowl LX: Push
Once again, this is too close to call. Both teams have a player capable of breaking a touchdown return on special teams and reliable specialists in the kicking game.
