FRIDAY AFTERNOON QUARTERBACK: SUPER BOWL LX
Summary
The Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots meet in Super Bowl LIX on February 8, 2025, at Levi’s Stadium. Seattle leads the all-time series 11-9 and won their last matchup in 2024. The Patriots, making their 12th Super Bowl appearance, are underdogs for the first time since their 2002 championship win.
Seattle advanced by decisively beating the 49ers and Rams, powered by quarterback Sam Darnold. New England reached the game with a defensive 10-7 road win over Denver, though rookie quarterback Drake Maye has struggled. The prediction favors Seattle’s superior offense and defense for a convincing 31-13 victory, with Darnold named MVP.
SEATTLE SEAHAWKS VS NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (+5, O/U: 45.5)
Date: Sunday, Feb. 8, 2025
Location: Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara, Calif.
Broadcast: NBC/Peacock
THE HISTORY
This will be the 21st all-time meeting between the Patriots and Seahawks, with the majority coming before 2002 when Seattle was still in the AFC. The Seahawks lead the all-time series 11-9. They last faced off on Sep. 15, 2024, with Seattle winning 23-20 in overtime. Geno Smith, now with the Las Vegas Raiders, was 33 of 44 for 327 yards, one touchdown, and no picks. Jaxon Smith-Njiba caught 12 passes for 117 yards. DK Metcalf, now with the Pittsburgh Steelers, hauled in 10 balls for 129 yards and a score. For the Pats, Jacoby Brissett, now with the Arizona Cardinals, was 15 of 27 for 149 yards, a TD, and no picks. Antonio Gibson rushed 11 times for 96 yards. Rhamondre Stevenson had 21 carries for 82 yards and a touchdown. Hunter Henry caught eight passes for 109 yards.
This will be the 12th Super Bowl appearance for the Patriots. They are, of course, 6-5 in their other 11 trips. The Seahawks are making their third showing in the Super Bowl and are 1-1.
This will be the first time the Patriots are underdogs in a Super Bowl since Super Bowl XXXVI in the 2001-02 season, a game they won 20-17 over the then St. Louis Rams. It was the first Super Bowl Championship of the Tom Brady and Bill Belichick era.
New England has eight players who have been in a Super Bowl before: Carlton Davis III, Christian Elliss, Mack Hollins, Darius Harris, Yasir Durant, Austin Hooper, Patrick Johnson, and Milton Williams. Hollis won a ring with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2017 over the Pats, Johnson and Williams both won a ring with the Eagles last year over the Kansas City Chiefs, Davis got his ring with Tom Brady and the 2020-21 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, defeating the Chiefs, Hooper lost his super bowl against the Pats as a member of the Atlanta Falcons in 2016-17. Ellis, with the Eagles, lost to the Chiefs in 2022-23, Durant lost his chance at a ring with the Chiefs by losing to the Eagles last season, and Harris has two rings thanks to those same Chiefs in 2022-23 and 2023-24.
Seattle has four players with Super Bowl experience, and they are not nearly as difficult to track. Josh Jobe lost that 2022-23 Super Bowl to the Chiefs while with the Eagles, and Cam Akers, Ernest Jones IV and Cooper Kupp all won the 2021-22 Super Bowl with the Rams. Kupp was, of course, the Super Bowl MVP.
SEATTLE SEAHAWKS (16-3)
The Seahawks got an NFC West reunion all the way through the playoffs, knocking off the San Francisco 49ers, 41-6, in the Divisional Round before defeating the Los Angeles Rams, 31-17, in the NFC Championship. Sam Darnold was 25 of 36 for 346 yards, three touchdowns, and no picks in the win. He was sacked three times. Kenneth Walker III rushed 19 times for 62 yards and a score. Jaxon Smith-Njiba caught 10 passes for 53 yards and a TD. The defense sacked Matthew Stafford once.
NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (17-3)
New England had to punch their ticket to the big game on the road, defeating the top-seeded Denver Broncos, 10-7, in the snow in the AFC Championship. Drake Maye was 10 of 21 for 86 yards, no TDs, and no picks. He was sacked five times. He rushed 10 times for 65 yards and a touchdown. Rhamondre Stevenson had 25 carries for 71 yards. Mack Hollins caught two passes for 51 yards. The defense sacked Jarrett Stidham three times, picked him off once, and held Denver to 79 total yards on the ground.
THE PICK
This is the NFL, and if the 2001-02 Patriots taught us anything is that a Dynasty can be born and murdered in the same game with a huge upset win as an underdog. That year, the then St. Louis Rams and the Greatest Show on Turf were significant favorites, only for New England to win the game in the final seconds thanks to an Adam Vinatieri field goal, 20-17. Do I see something similar happening in this game?
Nope. If Drake Maye has a decent game in the Super Bowl, against the NFL’s best defense, then it’ll be the first he’s enjoyed in the postseason. Despite the Pats making the Super Bowl thanks to some elite defense and ridiculous luck. Maye has spent all of January showing why every single MVP voter who turned in his card should be banned from future voting, along with the Hall of Fame voters who kept Bill Belichick sitting for a year. New England has a great defense itself, but I just don’t see them doing much against this Seahawks crew at all. Seattle won their Super Bowl last week, knocking off the Rams. This game is just a victory lap. Seahawks 31, Patriots 13
MVP: Sam Darnold
Conference Championships
Straight up: 0-2
Against the spread: 0-2
Season
Straight up: 179-102-1
Against the spread: 135-147
Follow Adam Greene on Blue Sky @AdamGreene13, threads @adam.greene and Twitter @TheFirstMan
