Super Bowl LX has finally arrived following two weeks of buildup across the NFL. The Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots were long shots to reach the Big Game. However, they have managed to defy the early-season odds to land in Santa Clara with the Vince Lombardi Trophy on the line.
To cap our pre-game coverage of the 60th edition of the NFL’s championship game, we wanted to give our audience a quick rundown of how both teams arrived at this point.
Plus our TeamFB7 resident experts are here to offer up their predictions for Super Sunday.
The Story Of The Seahawks
It has felt for a while now that Seattle is clearly the best team in the league, and the Seahawks have reinforced that point week after week.
It really crystallized in Week 18 with the 13-3 win over San Francisco with the NFC West and No. 1 seed at stake, as Seattle stifled arguably the league’s hottest offense at the time to just 173 yards and one field goal.
Some wondered how much the 49ers missing standout left tackle Trent Williams changed the dynamics of the matchup. Well, the teams met again two weeks later in the divisional round of the playoffs, and Seattle delivered an even worse beating in a 41-6 win, holding Brock Purdy to 140 passing yards and the Niners to 236 overall.
The NFC championship game vs. the Rams and the teams’ pivotal mid-December clash were outliers, as Los Angeles’ league-leading offense proved to be the rare Kryptonite to this Seattle defense. But we felt for a while that those were the two best teams in the entire NFL, and so did the oddsmakers who had them as the two Super Bowl favorites through the final weeks of the regular season.
Take out those Rams games, and here’s what Seattle’s defense allowed in its other six games the last two-plus months: 0 points/162 yards (Minnesota), 9 points/274 yards (Atlanta), 16 points/220 yards (Indianapolis), 10 points/139 yards (Carolina), 3 points/173 yards (San Francisco) and 6 points/236 yards (San Francisco again). That’s an average of 7.3 points and 200.7 yards per game.
Yes, that excludes the two offensive shootouts with the Rams — 38-37 in overtime and 31-27 in the NFC championship game — but guess what? The Rams aren’t a present obstacle any longer.
There is some concern about Seattle’s thin running back depth since Zach Charbonnet was lost to a season-ending ACL injury in the playoff win over the 49ers. The Seahawks’ offensive success (3rd in the league at 28.4 PPG) had been largely built on a clear formula — leaning heavily on the rushing tandem of Kenneth Walker III and Charbonnet while taking pressure off Darnold, who ranked 15th in the NFL with 477 passing attempts during the season. The Bills’ Josh Allen was the only QB to play all 17 games and attempt less passes. That was by design for Seattle, as Darnold still managed to throw the third-most interceptions in the league (14).
Without half of that RB duo, Walker had to carry the rushing attack almost entirely himself in the NFC championship game with 19 carries while undrafted second-year back George Holani had 3 and WR Rashid Shaheed 1. If anything were to happen to Walker in this game — and he’s had his share of injury setbacks over the years — the dynamics could change swiftly.
But with just four quarters left, and with two weeks of rest since the last game, expect Seattle to ask Walker to shoulder his biggest workload of the season so Darnold can do what he does best — pick his spots and work the play-action passing game as well as any QB in the league while looking to hit on several downfield shots to the NFL’s leading receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
The Story Of The Patriots
It needs to be noted that the Patriots were 2nd in the NFL in scoring 28.8 PPG and 3rd in yards (379.4 per game) during the season and that QB Drake Maye finished one first-place vote behind MVP winner Matthew Stafford.
But the Patriots only played four regular-season games against top 13 defenses in terms of yards allowed per game and none against the top 11 defenses in terms of points allowed. They did fare well in those four referenced games — a 23-20 win over Buffalo, a 25-19 win over New Orleans, a 32-13 win over Cleveland and then a 35-31 loss in the rematch with the Bills.
The Pats beat the Chargers 16-3 but didn’t score a touchdown until the fourth quarter while Maye passed for 268 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT (and rushed for 66 yards). They beat the Texans 28-16 in the divisional round, but that was due largely to the defense forcing five turnovers — New England had just 248 yards and 3 turnovers of its own in that game as Maye passed for 179 yards, 3 TDs and a pick plus 2 lost fumbles. And the AFC championship game vs. Denver was a unique challenge with a blizzard rendering offensive football impossible for much of the second half, but nonetheless the Patriots won 10-7 with 206 yards and Maye throwing for only 86 while rushing for 65 and a score.
On the flip side, New England also had a great defense in its own right this year, ranking 4th in points allowed (18.8 PPG) and 8th in total defense (295.2 YPG). But as we’ve noted ad nauseum, the Patriots played an inordinate number of backup, soon-to-be-backup or purely bad quarterbacks this season with that continuing in the AFC championship game when Denver had to start Jarrett Stidham in place of injured Bo Nix.
RELATED: Read all of our coverage leading up to Super Bowl LX
Super Bowl LX Game Info
Where: Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California
When: 6:30 p.m. ET Sunday on NBC/Peacock
Odds: Seattle is a 4.5-point favorite with the over/under set at 45.5.
For all your Super Bowl betting needs, make sure to check out Ballislife Bets featuring full coverage of the Big Game.
TeamFB7 Super Bowl LX Staff Picks
This is where we point out that our postseason predictions have been rather on point!
We’ve nailed the outright winner in 11 of the 12 playoff games so far, missing only on the 49ers’ wildcard win over the Eagles, we hit one score prediction exactly (Bills 27, Jaguars 24) and have largely been in range on the margin of victory (less so on the over/under).
With that, it’s time for the TeamFB7 staff to make its predictions.
(Drum roll, please …)
Ronnie Flores, TeamFB7 Editor-In-Chief
Prediction: Seahawks 31, Patriots 24
Drake Maye takes more sacks than any playoff quarterback, basically ever, and I don’t like the fact the Patriots (14-3) have a rookie left tackle and Maye just won’t magically be better in this game. The Seattle Seahawks (14-3) have the best scoring defense in the league and also have the best defense against the run. Sam Darnold has been on the money in the post-season and just like Trent Dilfer with that great Ravens defense in the early 2000s, all he has to do is manage the game and make one big play to wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Cooper Kupp will get some opportunities as New England’s defense keys on Smith-Njigba.
Matt Moreno, TeamFB7 Managing Editor
Prediction: Seahawks 23, Patriots 17
It’s truly remarkable to see the turnaround that has happened in New England. It is the stuff fan bases dream of, and of course it happened to the Patriots. The top franchise of the century in the NFL wasn’t gaining any sympathy coming off two consecutive 4-13 seasons. Fans from many teams across the league would love to have even one championship in the last 25 years let alone six.
Still, what Mike Vrabel has done with his former team as a first-year coach with the Patriots cannot be overstated. New England has found its secret sauce once again following the dynasty it built with Bill Belichick and Tom Brady.
The Seahawks have been just as impressive in their rebuild. Seattle didn’t have as much work to do as New England, but landing Mike Macdonald has been vital to the resurgence in the Emerald City. Who knew all it would take to get back to the mountaintop is a quarterback who has been considered a bust for most of his career?
Sam Darnold’s turnaround has been impressive coming off a career year with Minnesota, which opted to stick with J.J. McCarthy over the former third overall draft pick. The Vikings’ loss has been Seattle’s gain, and Darnold is coming off a stellar performance in the NFC championship game.
Despite all that, it’s the defensive side of the ball that is going to determine Sunday’s winner. The Dark Side Defense is real, and I’m buying the reinvention of the Legion of Boom in Seattle. I think the Seahawks just have a little too much firepower on both sides of the ball. I’m picking Seattle in this Super Bowl XLIX rematch.
Sara Jane Gamelli, TeamFB7 Editor/Content Creator
Prediction: Seahawks 27, Patriots 17
New England had arguably one of the hardest and most impressive playoff runs of the season. Barreling through the Denver Broncos, Houston Texans, and Los Angeles Chargers, the Patriots single-handedly knocked off some of the top defenses in the NFL.
It’s truly amazing what the Patriots have accomplished in their first season under head coach Mike Vrabel. Completely shifting the culture, Vrabel has one of the highest football IQs in the game, particularly in clock management.
How many first-year coaches can say they turned a previous four-win team into a Super Bowl? Plus second-year quarterback Drake Maye was left one vote shy of winning the MVP award.
The Pats had one of the league’s most potent offenses this season, and no, it wasn’t any one player. Vrabel deployed a dual running back threat through injuries, and Stefon Diggs returned to WR1 form. While the Pats’ receiving corps doesn’t include star-studded names outside Diggs, Maye has several options. It additionally helps that Rhamondre Stevenson has been a threat in the backfield, especially in the wild card matchup against the Chargers.
I may have slept on the Patriots’ defense, which ranked 23rd in DVOA. They not only shut down Justin Herbert and the Chargers, but held LA and Denver to 10 points combined. If they are going to win this, it will come from the hands of Vrabel’s coaching and defense.
Maye hasn’t been stellar, and the last game against Denver was truly difficult to judge because of the snow. But of all games, he’s led the team where they needed to be. Look at Peyton Manning in Super Bowl 50. Manning was essentially a game manager that relied on defense/special teams.
I’m not saying the Patriots can’t hang, but they face their toughest test on Sunday. We are talking about an elite defense that is incredible against the pass and run. Seattle enters this matchup as the top defensive team in the league (DVOA).
Though I would have never guessed Seattle as top dogs in the NFC, here we are. Pulling off a gritty 31-27 victory, Sam Darnold and company single-handedly defeated the top offense in the LA Rams.
Oblique injury or not, Darnold is the real deal and so are the Seahawks. Top to bottom, this is one of the most complete teams, and the trio of Jaxson Smith-Njigba, Cooper Kupp, and Rashid Shaheed is scary in itself. Especially if Shaheed has another punt return.
An issue in years past, Mike Macdonald has unlocked Kenneth Walker III and the run game, although losing Zach Charbonnet as the goal-line guy (injury) may sting. This team has the perfect balance of offense.
While this Seattle defense isn’t quite the Legion of Boom, it’s enough to wipe out the Patriots entirely. Do we need to talk about how Seattle stomped on the 49ers in the divisional round? Devon Witherspoon, Leonard Williams, DeMarcus Lawrence, you name it. This defense is stacked.
Darnold went from seeing ghosts to a legitimate Super Bowl quarterback. While the Pats deserve to be here, I don’t think they quite stack up to their opponent. From what I’ve seen, the Seahawks are the more complete, veteran team, on both sides of the ball.
This should be a low-scoring affair, but I’m taking the Seahawks to win, 27-17
Ryan Young, TeamFB7 Writer
Prediction: Seahawks 31, Patriots 17
Seattle’s “The Dark Side” defense is legit with star power at every level. The comparisons to the Seahawks’ “Legion of Boom” defenses during their last Super Bowl runs have been an obvious storyline but also not a major stretch.
Meanwhile, Darnold answered his doubters by showing he could play at an elite level under the bright spotlight in a big game, completing 25 of 36 passes for 346 yards, 3 TDs and 0 INTs in the NFC championship game.
New England hadn’t faced a truly elite defense until the playoffs, though, and it’s been a different story these last few weeks for Maye and the offense.
After being the fourth-most sacked QB in the NFL with 47 during the regular season, Maye has been sacked 5 times in each of the Patriots’ three playoff games while playing three top-5 defenses.
We haven’t seen the Patriots light it up against a defense even close to the caliber of these Seahawks, and the pass protection struggles are a paramount concern.
For all those reasons, this feels like a comfortable Seattle win.
Maybe that’s putting too much faith in Darnold after just one truly elite playoff performance. Maybe that’s obscuring the forest for the trees with the Patriots overall success by getting caught up in circumstantial context.
But that’s my pick.
Geoff Magliocchetti, TeamFB7 Writer
Prediction: Patriots 19, Seahawks 17
This fray by the Bay is probably not the Super Bowl matchup many fans wanted to see end the 2025-26 NFL season, but perhaps it’s the one they needed right now.
A New England-Seattle rematch, rife with defensive talents and mastery, is perhaps an intriguing antidote to “last possession wins” or scoreboards looking like pinball machines. There’s also no doubt a sense of wondering how each of these teams got here beyond the traditional sense of star power, but such complaints are mostly moot and marinated with envy.
Seattle should have this one on paper: for all defensive hype around this game, the fact that the Seahawks have the NFL’s top playmaker in Jaxon Smith-Njigba certainly bodes well on their end. But with all signs pointing to Sunday’s game being a low-scoring slugfest, one likely not to the extend of the most recent Patriots-Rams title in Super Bowl LIII but nothing to suggest the over is a wise move. That plays perfectly into New England’s favor.
For all the bluster and bellowing about the Patriots returning to the Super Bowl, there’s a lingering sense of them having something to prove thanks to a relatively easy schedule they didn’t pick. But New England has worked wonders in the parent of doing the ordinary things extraordinarily well, which is a tragically diminishing skill in the modern NFL.
The most vital skill may be the most buried: in a game where defenses reign, field position will be of utmost importance. Seattle has a strong entrant in that department after acquiring Rashid Shaheed from New Orleans but the Patriots have an experienced dual-threat in Marcus Jones. The MVP award, like its regular season counterpart, has mostly turned into a quarterback popularity contest, but let’s mix things up with a dual-threat showcase, partly invoking Desmond Howard’s famed run for the Packers that victimized the Patriots nearly three decades ago. Patriots 19, Seahawks 17. MVP: Marcus Jones
Will Despart, TeamFB7 Writer
Prediction: Patriots 24, Seahawks 23
Where the rest of America is seemingly zigging, I’m going to zag.
As dominant as the Seahawks have been throughout the season and especially over the last few weeks, I simply think too much collective faith is being placed in Sam Darnold to play his best football in the biggest game of his life. Oblique injury aside, we’ve seen Darnold falter in these potentially legacy-defining moments as recently as last season, and even this season, his deficiencies have been covered up by how great the talent surrounding him is. Keep in mind that Darnold led all QBs in turnovers this season, and the Patriots’ defense ranks in the top 10 in forced turnovers (and has forced 2.7 per game across their last three games).
I understand Drake Maye’s playoff performance has done little to inspire confidence in the Patriots’ offense, but surviving tough tests against Houston and Denver (in the elements) should have them prepared to handle whatever Seattle’s defense throws at them in the Bay Area’s temperate climate. With the Patriots playing in what can even be described as decent weather for the first time in over a month, I expect the Southern boy Maye to be slinging it just like he was in the regular season, especially with a hobbled Nick Emmanwori in the Seattle secondary. As far as Maye’s shoulder, it doesn’t appear to be something a little Vitamin T won’t handle before the game.
I’ll take the Patriots 24-23 thanks to a late Andres Borregales field goal, with Marcus Jones intercepting Darnold on the final possession to seal New England’s record 7th Super Bowl championship.
Isabelle McCarthy, TeamFB7 Writer
Prediction: Seahawks 27, Patriots 20
In a tough defensive matchup, it’s hard to guess who will make the big play when it matters. However, looking at how the playoffs have gone, this outcome will rely on Sam Darnold and the Patriots defense. Still, I’m taking the Seahawks, as Darnold has consistently delivered in key moments this postseason and gives Seattle the slight edge in a game that should come down to execution late.
With this being a huge battle between two top defenses, the score could be around 27-20 in favor of Seattle.
