Super Bowl LX Preview
Today is the big day, the Super Bowl. The game to end off the football season, and we have a rematch between two franchises: the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots. Will the Seahawks win this time, or will the Patriots have the most Super Bowls of any NFL team in history? Let’s take a look at the matchup.
Seattle Seahawks
Admittedly, I did not think the Seahawks would be in this position. Sam Darnold is not a household name, although, he might just become one after today. The Seahawks had a dominate win against the 49ers, and a close win against the Rams to get to this moment. The 49ers win came with several caveats as they had a lot of injuries to star players, but the win against the Rams cemented why the Seahawks deserved to be at the big stage.
Darnold was borderline perfect. He threw for 346 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions. Kenneth Walker III rushed for 62 yards and one touchdown and Jaxon Smith-Njigba had 10 receptions for 153 yards and one touchdown. By all counts, the offense was electric, which was required to beat a team like the Rams.
Defenively, the Seahawks made key players to stop the Rams but that doesn’t necessarily reflect on the stats page. The Seahawks only got one sack against Matthew Stafford, but they forced four fumbles (only recovering one.) So, one of the areas the Seahawks might be in trouble in is the defense, as New England is a dominating offensive force, so it might be a shootout, but the offense led by Darnold is up to the task. Also, the Seahawks defense did keep the Rams from running the ball, which is one of the areas the Patriots do like to do, so that could be an interesting development.
Players to watch: Sam Darnold, Kenneth Walker III, and Jaxon Smith-Njigba
New England Patriots
Unlike the Seahawks, the Patriots played in three playoff games. First, they had a low-scoring win against the Chargers, then a win against the Texans, and lastly another low-scoring win against the Broncos.
Since that game against the Broncos was in a blizzard, we’ll actually look at the Texans game to preview this Super Bowl. Quarterback Drake Maye threw for 179 yards and three touchdowns with an interception. He took five sacks in the game. Rhamondre Stevenson rushed for 70 yards but did not score. Kayshon Boutte had three receptions for 75 yards and one touchdown. It was not exactly up to the level of the Seahawks in terms of scoring, but the defense clearly got it done so lets look at that.
Defensively, the Patriots got three sacks on C.J. Stroud and an impressive four interceptions. I highly doubt Darnold makes the same amount of mistakes, but if he does make mistakes the Patriots are ready to capitalize on them. The Patriots also recovered one fumble. So while the Seahawks defense was able to stop the run, the Patriots are good at turnovers.
Players to watch: Drake Maye, Kayshon Boutte, and Carlton Davis III
All that said, who wins?
Prediction: The Seahawks redeem themselves from that infamous Super Bowl where they did not use Marshawn Lynch on the 1-yard line. The Seahawks’ high-powered offense will be tremendous in this game and their defense will shut Stevenson out completely. The Patriots will hold their own, but will not be able to catch up with the Seahawks. Smith-Njigba wins Super Bowl MVP.