At the end of each season, the NFL has two teams shed sweat and flex muscles for sixty minutes to determine who will hold the Lombardi Super Bowl trophy. Many fans, players, and coaches dream of the chance to play in the Super Bowl. This may sound extreme, but the truth is that players give everything they have, battling through injuries and the hard days in practice.
The coaches have prepared their team and shared their knowledge with the players to make the plays and get the job done. For the fans, the long wait is over, and generations of fans have waited to get back at a chance to go to the promised land. The weeks and weeks of the NFL season have led to the players playing in San Francisco at Levi Stadium for Super Bowl 60: The Seattle Seahawks vs. the New England Patriots.
The New England Patriots are no strangers to the spotlight of the Super Bowl. They have won six different times under the leadership of their former quarterback Tom Brady and former head coach Bill Belichick. However, this time a completely different team will be competing.
They are led by 2nd year quarterback Drake Maye, who is an MVP front runner, and first year head coach Mike Vrabel who show reminiscence of the former quarterback-head coach partners. The last couple of years, the Patriots have been in the slums of the league, fighting for position but to no real success under poor head coaches that could not fulfill the spots that were left open.
Last year, they went 3-14 in the regular season but looked promising with only a switch or two away from finding their groove with a strong looking team that could have potential. The real flip happened when Mike Vrabel was hired by the Patriots after the Tennessee Titans let him go. Vrabel showed his support for the players and made sure to hold them accountable under strict guidelines. He also means a lot to the players themselves as he was once a player; Vrabel does a great job in instilling confidence within his players. In the regular season, they went 14-3 and surged to the top, defying all odds. While they have struggled on the offensive side of the ball, their defense is very strong.
The Seattle Seahawks have been a dominant force this year and have rolled through the competition. They are led by quarterback Sam Darnold who was once called a reject. He was drafted by the New York Jets in the first round to become the starting quarterback for them, however he failed miserably and was blamed for the team’s shortcomings. He even said in an interview after a game in 2019 that he thought he was “seeing ghosts” on the field!
However, his past few years after growing in a new system and thriving for the Minnesota Vikings led him to the Seahawks where he has found a home. The Seahawks also have one of, if not the best wide receiver in the league, Jaxon Smith-Nijigba, who was shined with Darnold. Jazon Smith-Nijigba was even awarded the Offensive Player of the Year award. Their defense has also been an unstoppable force, often referred as “The Dark Side” for their impressive ability to shut down offences and create turnovers. This season, they have been passing with flying colors. As of now, the Seahawks have has unstoppable support from their home fans.
The Seahawks are recognized as the favorites, according to many insiders and betters. However, anything can happen. In fact, these two teams went head to head in the Super Bowl of 2015. The Patriots and Seahawks played in Super Bowl XLIX with the Patriots in the middle of their dynasty with Tom Brady, while the Seahawks were trying to play spoiler with their MVP quarterback Russel Wilson and dynamic head coach Pete Carroll.
Both teams traded blows and eventually led to the Seahawks having a 10 point lead in the 4th quarter. The Patriots in the final minutes charged back, coming back and seizing a 4 point led going into the final offensive possession for the Seahawks to drive down and score a touchdown for the Super Bowl. The Seahawks led themselves down the field and were able to reach the 1-yard line with 20 seconds to go. Instead of using their big running back Marshawn Lynch to punch it in to win the Super Bowl, the Seahawks threw the ball and it got intercepted by the Patriot’s Malcolm Butler, giving the Patriots the Super Bowl win.
This crazy game truly shows that anything can happen in the Super Bowl, the game of all NFL games. The Super Bowl of 2026 will be on February 8 at 6:30 p.m. on NBC or Peacock.
