Jayden: Seattle Seahawks 24, New England Patriots 17
In Super Bowl LX, it is a clash of teams not expected to be here. The New England Patriots, who had a rough few years, are back on the big stage after hiring former Patriot Mike Vrabel. The Patriots are anchored by one of the best talents at quarterback in just his second season. Drake Maye had an MVP-caliber season and has shown time and time again the poise of a seasoned pro.
Maye has thrown for 4,394 yards, 31 touchdowns and eight interceptions. They also have a solid defense anchored by superstar cornerback Christian Gonzalez. The Seahawks, under coach Mike Macdonald, have had a stellar defense from top to bottom and will cause Maye and the Pats plenty of issues.
On the other side, the Seahawks are led by quarterback Sam Darnold, who has had his run-ins with the Pats in the past. Darnold has had a stellar season and led them to a Super Bowl. Darnold has thrown for 4,048 yards, 25 touchdowns and 14 interceptions.
The Seahawks have weapons in Kenneth Walker III and AP Offensive Player of the Year Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who has been superb all season. I think the Seahawks’ offense will cause too many problems, and the defense will swarm Maye and make him uncomfortable. In the end, the Seahawks walk away as Super Bowl champions, 24-17.
Liam: Seahawks 31-23
A major X-factor in this year’s Super Bowl is the rapid rise of the NFL’s best young quarterback, Drake Maye. In just his second season, Maye has already shown a level of poise that most veterans spend a decade chasing. His playoff run alone proves it. The Patriots’ path to the Super Bowl has gone straight through three of the league’s top defenses. Maye’s emergence is only part of the story in New England.
First-year head coach Mike Vrabel has completely reshaped the identity of the Patriots, restoring their physical edge while modernizing the offense around his young quarterback’s strengths. Vrabel should be the frontrunner for Coach of the Year, though Seattle’s Mike Macdonald deserves serious consideration for building one of the most dominant defenses in football.
That Seahawks defense is ultimately why I’m picking Seattle to win, 31-23. This unit feels like the most complete group we’ve seen since the Legion of Boom era. The biggest question is whether Sam Darnold can rise to the occasion on the sport’s biggest stage. After doubting him entering the NFC Championship, I won’t make the same mistake twice and I think he’ll do just enough to get the win.
He doesn’t need to be spectacular; he just needs to be efficient. With that defense behind him, efficient should be enough to bring another Lombardi Trophy back to Seattle.
Timmon: Seahawks 31-17
In the upcoming Super Bowl between the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots, there is an obvious favorite. I always choose the underdog, although in this case I have been a Seahawks fan my whole life. With a 3.5 spread for the Seahawks to win, I think that is very generous. The Seahawks only lost three games, with a combined total of nine points.
The Seahawks also have the best defense in the NFL, only allowing 17.2 points per game. On top of that, Jaxon Smith-Njigba had the most receiving yards in the NFL this season, led by Sam Darnold, who has 25 touchdowns and over 4,000 yards, a
combination that is basically untouchable. On the other hand, the New England Patriots barely squeezed by the Denver Broncos in the AFC championship game. The Broncos were missing Bo Nix, their franchise quarterback, due to an ankle injury. The Patriots were 4-13 last season and have had a massive turnaround.
QB Drake Maye had over 30 touchdowns and has carried the team on their back, leading one of the top offenses in the league. While this can be a little scary, nothing will get past the Seahawks Defense. Especially with the weapons that the Seahawks have on offense. After the Seahawks beat the Los Angeles Rams twice this season and beat the San Francisco 49ers by 35 points in the divisional round, it is hard to see them losing to New England.
Gage: Seahawks 30-17
I believe this Super Bowl rematch will be in favor of the Seahawks this time. Throughout the season and the playoffs, the Seahawks offense and defense proved they are a lethal duo. Jaxson Smith-Nijigba is arguably the best receiver in the league, Sam Darnold is playing out of his mind and the duo of Kenneth Walker III and Zach Charbonnet make a lethal ground game.
On the defensive side of the ball, they have only let up roughly 17 points a game, the fewest in the league. With players such as Devon Witherspoon and Leonard Williams, this Seahawks defense is going to be tough to get through. For the Patriots, they have one of the league’s easiest schedules, while also playing division rivals Jets and Dolphins twice.
In the playoffs, they faced offensive lineless Chargers, turnover prone Texans and the Bo Nix-less Broncos in the AFC Championship, only winning by three and having 86 total passing yards. Overall, the Seahawks are simply the more complete team.
With balance on both sides of the ball and success against tougher competition, this rematch favors Seattle. If they play like they have, the Lombardi is theirs.
Taylan: Seahawks 24-10
For Super Bowl 60, the Patriots and the Seahawks are battling. The Patriots have the MVP runner-up versus the best defense in the league. Seattle has a top 10 offense versus a top 10 defense. Both teams have the opportunity to do something special on Sunday, but one team will come out on top. My prediction for the big game is that the Seahawks win 24-10.
I do not think the Patriots and Drake Maye have the capabilities to beat this once-in-a-generation defense that the Seahawks have. The MVP winner, Matthew Stafford, couldn’t even beat this defense with more weapons than Drake Maye. However, I do believe that there is an opportunity for the Patriots to score in the end zone and kick a field goal.
The Seahawks will outscore the Patriots by 14 due to having a top five quarterback this season and the Offensive Player of the Year winner in Jaxon Smith-Njigba. The Seahawks’ defense could score touchdowns, too, due to Drake Maye having 20 total fumbles this season.
It could be very hard for the Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold to get going against this good of a defense. Against top 10 passing defenses this season, Darnold has averaged 10 or fewer fantasy points.
However, with the Seahawks having offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, an offensive mastermind who will be accepting a head coaching job next season, the Seahawks will find a way to score on the Patriots’ defense, which hasn’t had a real test this postseason and hardly a real test all year.