This Sunday, we observe one of the most sacred of national holidays, an American celebration bested in scope only by Christmas, national “Talk Like a Pirate Day,” and maybe the Fourth of July. That afternoon, historical trends suggest that roughly half of all Americans will be parked in front of their flatscreens for five straight hours gluttonously housing chicken wings and light beer to watch half a billion dollars-worth of television commercials. In between each of those $25M-a-pop ad breaks, it’s rumored an actual NFL football game will be played as well.
This year, for only the second time in the last seven, the Kansas City Chiefs are not a participant in America’s biggest sport’s biggest game. Forlorn Swifties will have to put away their “Taylor’s Boyfriend” shirzees and endure the Seattle Seahawks taking on the New England Patriots in place of eagerly awaiting cutaways to Tay-Tay swilling vodka-crans and over-cheering in the suites.
I suppose Sunday’s bout is technically a rematch of one of the more entertaining Super Bowls of the last 15 years. However, the uniforms involved are where the similarities end. The extremely close Super Bowl XLIX was famously capped by Patriots DB Malcom Bulter intercepting Seahawks QB Russell Wilson in the endzone, negating what would have been a game-winning touchdown in the tilt’s final minute. Coach Pete Carroll’s decision to throw in that scenario — second down, 20 seconds left, inside the five-yard line, a timeout in pocket, and with running back Marshawn Lynch, then in peak Beast Mode form, inexplicably standing on the sideline — remains one of the most questionable calls in NFL history. The resultant 28-24 Patriots victory began Tom Brady’s “revival,” over which he made it to four of five Super Bowls (on two different teams), winning three of them.
This year’s version is unrecognizable from that classic game. Rather than a one-time-MVP-candidate QB on one side squaring off against a future unanimous Greatest of All Time signal caller on the other, we have a former Top-3-overall-pick-turned-four-team-NFL-journeyman against a second-year standout trying to be the replacement for that aforementioned G.O.A.T. Seattle’s Sam Darnold, a consensus bust as a top QB prospect for the Jets in the 2018 draft before slipping into a career backup trajectory, began his redemption arc last year when he was suddenly vaulted to the starting job with the Vikings. This came after presumptive rookie starting QB J.J. McCarthy suffered a season-ending knee injury during training camp. Darnold led Minnesota to a 14-3 record, earning the Most Improved Player honor and legitimate MVP consideration before being sacked nine times in the Wild Card game against the Rams, sealing a lackluster one-and-done playoff run.
While his career-redefining 2024 performance wasn’t enough to retain the starting job in Minnesota, it did earn him QB1 duties under Mike Macdonald, Seattle’s defensive-minded second-year head coach (not the sultry voiced former Doobie Brother). Darnold is now the first QB of the draft class that also produced Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, and Baker Mayfield to make the Super Bowl.
Darnold’s counterpart in New England, second-year starter Drake Maye is looking to cap his own MVP-caliber season with the Patriots’ first post-Brady SB victory. With Maye under center and new head coach Mike Vrabel’s tutelage, the boys from Baahstin boast both a Top-3 offense and a Top-10 defense. The wild one-year turnaround for New England is really remarkable. In Vrabel’s first season on the Patriots’ sideline, they managed to invert 2024’s 3-14 record into 14-3 in 2025 and were perceived as AFC frontrunners nearly all season. The weakness of that conference certainly helped. With Denver starting QB Bo Nix kept out of the AFC championship game with a mysterious ankle injury (supposedly suffered in the locker room while celebrating the Broncos’ Divisional Round victory), I don’t believe New England has played an opponent as formidable as Seattle all year.
While Macdonald has revamped the Hawks’ perennial tough-nosed defense-first reputation, leading to a Top 3 rank on that side of the ball, Darnold is also armed with the year’s most productive receiver in North Texas product Jaxon Smith-Njigba on the outside. The QB also benefits from a complementary smashmouth running game. Seattle finished Top 10 in nearly all offensive categories as well.
Though the contest is really strength-on-strength, I think it’s hard to see New England hanging with the Seahawks’ offensive output. We saw what the Broncos’ vicious pass rush did to Maye in the AFC championship game. He was sacked five times on the way to throwing for just 86 yards. And Seattle’s front is just as scary. I see Maye similarly running for his life and unable to keep pace with Big Sam.
One member of Seattle’s menacing front is former Cowboy Demarcus Lawrence. “Tank” started quite the controversy in the offseason, commenting that he left Dallas because he knew he’d never win a Super Bowl here. As he sits on the doorstep in just his first year since leaving, he’s so far been proven right. My money is on him completing the twist of the knife. I’m taking Seattle 30-24.
