by Thomas Quyanor for Wannamakeabet.com
The 2025 NFL season concludes tonight with the Seattle Seahawks (14-3, No. 1 seed in the NFC) battling the New England Patriots (14-3, No. 2 seed in the AFC) in Super Bowl LX (60) at Levi’s Stadium. The contest kicks off at 6:30 PM eastern on NBC. Tonight’s big game features two teams who weren’t expected to reach the Super Bowl prior to the season as neither made the playoffs last season. Seattle barely missed out on a playoff spot last year at 10-7, while New England finished 4-13 — last in the AFC East.
Seattle and New England are meeting for the second time in the Super Bowl. They met 11 years ago in Super Bowl XLIX (49) where New England stunned Seattle 28-24 during the 2014 season. New England’s victory prevented Seattle from winning back-to-back Super Bowls. The game is known for one of the most notorious moments in Super Bowl history because of a curious decision Seattle made. Seattle trailed 28-24 with 26 seconds remaining and had the ball on New England’s 1-yard line. A Seahawks victory seemed imminent.
Seattle inexplicably elected to go in shotgun formation and attempt a pass — instead of handing the ball to its All-Pro running back Marshawn Lynch — on 2nd & Goal at the 1-yard line. Russell Wilson’s pass was intercepted by Malcolm Butler which sealed the Super Bowl win for New England. The Patriots overcame a 10-point third quarter (24-14) deficit to win. Seattle’s decision to pass the ball on 2nd & Goal at the 1-yard line still remains a hot-button topic amongst sports fans to this day.
Tonight, will mark the 10th instance of a Super rematch. Only three teams have won the rematch after losing the first matchup — Washington defeated Miami 27-17 in Super Bowl XVII (17) during 1982-83 season, Philadelphia defeated New England 41-33 in Super Bowl LII (52) during the 2017-18 season and last year Philadelphia walloped Kansas City 40-22 in Super Bowl LIX (59).
Seattle is a 4.5-point favorite and the total is 45.5.
HOW BOTH TEAMS ADVANCED TO THE SUPER BOWL: SEATTLE
Last year, Sam Darnold resurrected his career with the Minnesota Vikings by throwing for career-highs of 4,319 touchdowns and 35 touchdowns. After Minnesota elected not to bring Darnold back, the Seattle Seahawks signed him to a three-year, $100 deal prior to the season. The addition of and continued excellence from Darnold (4,048 yards passing, 25 touchdowns to 14 interceptions in 17 gms) is a big reason for Seattle’s 14-3 record.
Seattle clinched the top seed in the NFC after outlasting the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams in the final weeks of the regular season to win the ultra-competitive NFC West division. Ironically, Seattle needed to beat both division rivals to advance to the Super Bowl. They clinched the top seed after a convincing 13-3 victory at San Francisco in a winner-take-all game in the regular season finale on Jan. 3. Seattle’s 14 wins this season set a franchise-record.
The top-seeded Seahawks earned an opening round bye in the playoffs. Their first postseason game was a rematch with division rival San Francisco — who upset the third-seeded and defending Super Bowl Champion Philadelphia Eagles 23-19 in the Wild Card Round — in the divisional (2nd) round.
Seattle picked up where they left off in Week 18 as they dominated San Francisco for a second time in three weeks. Seattle crushed San Francisco 41-6 at home in the divisional round. Seattle’s speedy wideout Rashid Shaheed took the opening kickoff 95-yards for a touchdown and the game was never in doubt after that. Seattle’s 35-point win tied the franchise-record for the largest in playoff history.
The Seahawks’ defense stymied the 49ers again, compiling 2 sacks, 2 fumbles and an interception. Running back Kenneth Walker III rushed for a season-high 119 yards on 19 carries and ran for 3 touchdowns. Walker’s 3 rushing touchdowns tied Shawn Alexander (2003-04 at GB) for the most in a playoff game in franchise history.
Seattle advanced to face the fifth-seeded Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Championship Game on Jan. 25. As was the case with San Francisco, the Seahawks split the regular season matchups with the Rams, dropping a 21-19 decision at Los Angeles on Nov. 16 and picking up a thrilling 38-37 victory on Dec. 18.
The NFC Championship Game played out like the 2 regular season matchups between Seattle and Los Angeles with the Seahawks holding on for a narrow 31-27 victory. Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold delivered an epic performance against the Rams throwing for a season-best 346 yards with 3 touchdowns and no interceptions. It was the first time this season Darnold threw for 3 touchdowns without a turnover.
Superstar wideout Jaxson Smith-Njigba amassed 10 receptions for 153 yards and a touchdown in Seattle’s win. The Seahawks advanced to the Super Bowl for the first time in 11 years, when they lost 28-24 to New England in Super Bowl XLIX (49).
HOW BOTH TEAMS ADVANCED TO THE SUPER BOWL: NEW ENGLAND
The 2025 New England Patriots made a stunning turnaround going from 4-13 (last in the AFC East) in 2024 to 14-3 and AFC East division champs this season. New England ended Buffalo’s five-year run as division champs. Drake Maye elevating his play to an All-Pro level (4,394 yards passing, 31 touchdowns to 8 interceptions in 17 gms) and the hiring of former Patriot great Mike Vrabel as head coach were the catalyst to this season’s surprising turnaround. New England earned the No. 2 seed in the AFC playoffs.
New England’s playoff journey began with a matchup against the seventh-seeded Los Angeles Chargers in the Wild Card round on Jan. 11. The Patriots defeated the Chargers 16-3 behind a herculean effort from its defense. The defense sacked Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert 6 times and held the Chargers to 207 yards of total offense. After struggling early on, Drake Maye recovered to throw for 268 yards with a touchdown and interception. Maye also rushed for a season-high 66 yards on 10 carries.
The Patriots went on to face the fifth-seeded Houston Texans in the divisional round on Jan. 18. Houston entered the game on an NFL-best 10-game winning streak and boasted the NFL’s #1 ranked defense. New England knocked off Houston 28-16.
For a second straight playoff game, New England was boosted by the excellent play of its defense — and possibly the cold, windy and snowy weather conditions — who engulfed and frustrated quarterback CJ Stroud all afternoon. Stroud threw 4 interceptions and was sacked 3 times. All four of Stroud’s interceptions occurred in the first half.
Drake Maye started off slow again against Houston but ended the day 16 of 27 for 179 yards with 3 touchdowns and an interception. Maye was sacked 5 times and lost 2 fumbles, but CJ Stroud’s foibles overshadowed Maye’s struggles. Wideouts Kayshon Boutte, Stefon Diggs and DeMario Douglas each caught touchdown passes for Buffalo.
New England went on the road to face the top-seeded Denver Broncos in the AFC Championship Game on Jan. 25. The outlook of the contest changed drastically when it was announced that Broncos starting quarterback Bo Nix suffered a season-ending fractured ankle in the closing moments — he still played the final few snaps of the game — against Buffalo in the divisional round. Backup Jarrett Stidham got the start against New England. Stidham had not started a game since Week 18 of the 2023 season, and had made just 4 NFL starts.
New England escaped with a 10-7 victory at Denver to advance to Super Bowl LX. After punting on their opening drive, Denver scored a touchdown after a 5-play, 59-yard drive that took only 1 minute and 51 seconds. From that point on, New England’s defense silenced Denver’s offense as they were never able to score again.
New England’s defense delivered a dominant performance for a third straight week. They sacked Jarrett Stidham 3 times and intercepted him once. Denver became the third team in the Super Bowl era (post-1967) to win a Conference Championship game by scoring 10 points or less. They joined the 1991 Buffalo Bills and 1979 Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
SUPER BOWL MVP ODDS
Sam Darnold (SEA): +120
Drake Maye (NE): +240
Jaxon Smith-Njigba (SEA): +500
Kenneth Walker III (SEA): +850
Rhamondre Stevenson (NE): +2800
Rashid Shaheed (SEA): +3000
THE PICK: SEAHAWKS (-4.5)
I think there was a bit of a luck factor in New England’s unexpected regular season success, and their playoff run — where they did not have to face Broncos star quarterback Bo Nix in the AFC Championship game. Also, Drake Maye and New England’s offense struggled in all 3 of their playoff wins.
On the other hand, Seattle’s offense, defense and special teams were clicking on all cylinders in both of their playoff wins. Matthew Stafford appears to be the only quarterback who can thrive against Seattle’s vaunted defense. And since the Seahawks eliminated Stafford, I don’t think they’ll have any problem with Drake Maye tonight. Lay the Points…Seahawks 31, Patriots 17
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