So this is it for the Championship of the National Football League. The Super Bowl will be decided tomorrow evening , in Santa Clara California. The Seattle Seahawks, will face the New England Patriots in a game of two upstart teams, in the 2025-26 season.

In Super Bowl 49, New England held on to beat Seattle 28-24, but most will remember that the Seahawks had the ball at the one-yard line after a three-yard run by Marshawn Lynch with seconds remaining. Instead of handing the ball off to “Beast Mode” again, the Seahawks had Russell Wilson throw the ball with 26 seconds left and he was picked off by Malcolm Butler in the end zone, who returned it to the Pats two yard line. These teams did not meet in 2025, but they did in 2024, with Seattle winning 23-20 in overtime. 

As Sam Darnold goes, so goes the Seahawks.

Sam Darnold, has not had a typical road of a Super Bowl quarterback in his first game. The 28-year-old started his career with the Jets, moved to Carolina, then San Francisco, with varied success, but one thing seemed to follow him-turnovers. He had a 45/39 touchdown-to-interception ratio with the Jets, a 16/16 TD/INT ratio with the Panthers and started just one game with the 49ers. But in 2025, he started to turn things around in Minnesota, throwing 35 TD passes and just 12 interceptions. With Seattle, he completed 67.6% of his passes for 4,048 yards with 25 TDs and 14 INTs.

This is an underrated offense that ranks eighth overall with 228.1 passing yards and 123.3 rushing yards for 351.4 overall yards per game with 28.4 points. Smith-Njigba leads the NFL with 1,793 yards receiving, with 119 catches and 10 TDs. Defensively, Seattle is elite, allowing just 285.6 yards per game and 193.9 passing yards per contest. The Seahawks rank third against the run, allowing 91.9 yards per game, and rank first in points allowed per game (17.2). This is a team that also forces turnover, led by five interceptions from LB Ernest Jones IV, who also leads the team with 126 tackles. They don’t have a dominant pass rusher like Myles Garrett, but the Seahawks do have three players who have seven sacks apiece in DE Leonard Williams, DT Byron Murphy and LB Uchenna Nwosu, while DE DeMarcus Lawrence adds six sacks, 11 TFLs and three forced fumbles.

Drake Maye has been the suprise amongst quarterbacks, in the NFL this season. He has impressed in his second season. throwing for 4,394 yards with 31 TDs and eight picks (72%), while rushing for 450 yards. One major concern has been turnovers and New England’s offensive line as Maye was sacked 47 times in the regular season and 15 times in the postseason. Turnovers have been an issue, especially in the first two playoff games as the 28-year old quaeterback, who will likely finish second in the MVP voting to Matthew Stafford, accumulated three against Houston and two against the LA Chargers. But Maye did not turn the ball over in the snow against Denver in the AFC Championship game.

The Patriots do have some flaws, but they usually find ways to win games. They lost two of their first three games and have gone 16-1 since then, with their only loss coming against Buffalo. Mike Vrabel built this team with a strong defense and running game, while his young quarterback can make plays with his arm and legs. But the Pats’ offense ranks third in the NFL with 379.4 yards per game and 250.5 passing yards (4th). A lot of that is Maye’s improvement, but the addition of Stefon Diggs gave them a veteran number one receiver, who caught 85 passes for 1,013 yards with four TDs. TE Hunter Henry isn’t Rob Gronkowski, but he’s a strong weapon with 87 catches for 768 yards with seven TDs. Rookie Travyeon Henderson leads the Patriots with 911 yards rushing and nine TDs. But Rhamonde Stevenson, who struggled with fumbles in the regular season, led the NFL with 194 yards on 51 carries in the playoffs.

Defensively, New England ranks eighth in total yardage allowed, sixth against the run and ninth against the pass. They have one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL in Christian Gonzalez, who has 69 tackles and 10 passes defensed in the regular season and four passes defensed with a pick in the postseason. They also have an excellent defensive line led by Christian Barmore, while linebackers Harold Landry III (8.5 sacks, 10 TFLs) and K’Lavon Chaisson (7.5 sacks, 10 TFLs) are the top pass rushers.

This game will come down to, which quarterback makes the big plays, and doesn’t throw costly interceptions. Both offenses have athletic quarterbacks with big arms and both have injury issues: Darnold (oblique) and Maye (shoulder), with both playing through them. The difference here is Gonzalez’s ability to shut down top receivers and Maye’s ability to run. Gonzalez will spend most of the time defending Smith-Njigba. Seattle’s defense did show some holes against the Rams, who shredded them for 374 yards in the air. Maye will be able to use his weapons, whether it’s Henry, Diggs, or Kayshon Boutte, who have had a strong postseason with 15 catches for 147 yards and an incredible one-handed diving TD catch. This should be a good matchup and I would be surprised if it came down to the last possession, just as it did 11 years ago.

This game will come down to the wire, with the Seahawks pulling it out in the final minutes.

Final Prediction: Seattle Seahawks 31 New England Patriots 24