Seahawks vs. Patriots: Four must-know storylines for Super Bowl LX

An unpredictable 2025 NFL season will come down to a Super Bowl pairing few predicted last summer. The New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks, both having missed the playoffs the year before, will go head to head Sunday night to see which team will win Super Bowl LX.

The Seahawks have been one of the most balanced, dangerous teams in the NFL this season, with firepower in every phase of the game. The Patriots have leveled off offensively in the postseason, but their defense has made up the gap with three terrific showings.

Will Sam Darnold finally dispel his past ghosts? Or will the upstart Patriots and Drake Maye pull off the upset? Super Bowl LX feels like a pretty compelling matchup, and if it’s half as good as the last time these teams met on this stage -- the Super Bowl XLIX classic between Tom Brady and the Legion of Boom -- then we should be in for a treat.

Four must-know storylines

1) Maye could have his hands full vs. Seahawks defense

Drake Maye had a terrific regular season and made himself an MVP candidate following a 4,394-yard, 31-touchdown, eight-interception campaign, while completing 72% of his passes. But he’s been a different quarterback in the playoffs, throwing for only 533 yards on 55.8% completions with five giveaways in three postseason games. His protection has been worse. The Patriots’ wide receivers are making fewer plays. Maye also has dealt with a right shoulder injury, though he has insisted it won't be an issue on Sunday. And now the Patriots are set to face another distinguished defense in a Seattle unit that has been fairly dominant against virtually every opponent not named the Rams. Can Maye turn things around? Luckily, he has an escape hatch with his scrambling ability, running an average of eight times for 47 yards in the playoffs -- a higher rate than in the regular season. Maye’s running could help him unlock some production if Seattle’s secondary bottles up the Patriots’ receiving threats. Look for offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels to give Maye some easier reads early on, get top targets Stefon Diggs and Hunter Henry involved and use the run game heavily to help keep Seattle honest. But how many downfield shots can the Patriots take? They’ve been less effective attacking vertically in the postseason and run the risk of Maye taking extra hits and sacks on slower-developing pass plays. The Seahawks are a well-balanced defense with standout players on all three levels. There might be chances to go after defensive backs Tariq Woolen and Joshua Jobe specifically, but that’s assuming Maye’s blocking holds up.

2) Darnold seeks to complete journey vs. Patriots

If there was an opponent that defined the Jets-era struggles of Sam Darnold early in his career, it was the Patriots. Darnold was 0-3 against the Patriots as a Jet (and 0-1 as a Panther), throwing for one TD and nine interceptions in those games. The nadir might have been the “seeing ghosts” game where Darnold completed 11 of 32 passes for 86 yards and four INTs against Bill Belichick’s defense in 2019. But Darnold has been a completely different quarterback the past two seasons, winning 30 combined games (including postseason) and playing turnover-free football in his past three contests. Darnold threw 14 interceptions this season, but six of those came against the Rams. The Patriots are likely not receiving the defensive respect they deserve, having held their past five opponents -- including three in the playoffs -- to 16 points or fewer. They’ve also forced eight takeaways and racked up 12 sacks in three playoff games, raising their game at the right time. Darnold must be patient on Sunday, taking small profits when they’re there against a defense that has allowed only two pass plays longer than 20 yards (and one run longer than 10 yards) in the playoffs. The Patriots will have a chance if they sack Darnold and win the turnover battle, so Darnold must not force the issue offensively. This is one of the better defenses the Seahawks have faced this season, and they have to stick with their regular-season formula of mixing a strong run game with Kenneth Walker III and taking their intermediate and deep shots to Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Rashid Shaheed. Using tempo can help the Seahawks gain personnel advantages to keep the Patriots off-balance.

3) Patriots OL must deal with tenacious Seattle rush

There are several individual matchups we could highlight, but Demarcus Lawrence, Byron Murphy II and Co. versus the left side of the Patriots’ line feels like a potential trouble spot for New England. Patriots rookies Will Campbell and Jared Wilson returned from injuries late in the season to return to the starting lineup, and each has struggled at times -- especially Campbell and especially in pass protection. Drake Maye has been sacked five times in each of the three playoff games, and the Seahawks are one of the league’s best pass rush outfits. Lawrence leads a four-man edge rotation that helped generate the fourth-highest pressure rate in 2025 despite blitzing at the eighth-lowest rate, per Next Gen Stats. Don’t forget Murphy in that equation; he was second on the Seahawks in pressures this season with 46, one of five of their defenders to have at least 40. New England will counter with heavy sets, using extra fullbacks, tight ends and offensive linemen, but that also limits the number of receivers running routes. The Patriots are likely to stick with the run-game duo of Rhamondre Stevenson and TreVeyon Henderson, even though they have been held in relative check in the postseason. Campbell has been good in the run-blocking department, and he had two massive fumble recoveries against the Texans, but it would be shocking if the Seahawks didn’t try to exploit him in passing situations on Sunday. The rookie will be in the crosshairs, and there’s only so much Maye and Josh McDaniels can do to shield him from the fire.

4) Elite vs. elite could match up when Seahawks have ball

The 2023 NFL Draft produced two big hits in Round 1 for the Super Bowl teams, with the Patriots drafting cornerback Christian Gonzalez 17th overall and the Seahawks selecting Jaxon Smith-Njigba three picks later. Now they’re two of the very best at their respective crafts, and the football-watching world can’t wait for them to lock horns. But how much will Gonzalez and Smith-Njigba face off? In their one NFL meeting, during the 2024 season, Gonzalez only shadowed JSN on two routes (zero targets), mostly following DK Metcalf around in that game. Metcalf is gone, it’s a different coaching staff, and the Seahawks don’t really have another receiver of his ilk, so it’s possible Gonzalez is asked to follow Smith-Njigba more than he did a year-plus ago. In that last matchup, JSN torched the Patriots for 112 yards, with nickel back Marcus Jones mostly assigned to him. Jones allowed him to catch four passes for 42 yards on seven targets in 19 matchups. Chances are, it will have to be group duty for New England, with Gonzalez, Jones and Carlton Davis all getting cracks against the NFL’s receiving yards leader. The safeties also figure to be playing heavily over the top to prevent the big plays. The Patriots also must contend with Rashid Shaheed and Cooper Kupp, who have each made big catches in the playoffs. But none instill fear in opponents the way Smith-Njigba does.

Seahawks' Super Bowl LX injury report

Patriots' Super Bowl LX injury report

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