The NFL season began in August and has brought a rollercoaster of emotions throughout the year, culminating in this year’s Super Bowl between the New England Patriots and the Seahawks. To look back at this game, you have to start in 2015 in Super Bowl XLIX between these same two teams. In a back-and-forth matchup, the Seahawks had the ball at the one-yard line in position to score the game-winning touchdown. Yet, with arguably the best running back in the league, they decided to throw a pass that would ultimately get intercepted, sealing the game for the Patriots. The Seahawks have not been back since that moment, while the Patriots secured 2 more championships.
Fast-forwarding to the start of this season, neither team was in a position to be very victorious. Starting with the champions of the last matchup, the Patriots. The Patriots had a young team that needed a lot of direction and development, so in one of their biggest moves, the Patriots signed Mike Vrabel, the former head coach of the Tennessee Titans. He was able to elevate the Titans to the #1 seed in the AFC and is a coach who is respected by other coaches, players, and fans. The Patriots also signed wide receiver Stefon Diggs, a skilled receiver who brought a spark to the Patriots’ offense that they desperately needed.
Moving to the other side, the Seahawks also made major offseason moves. Starting with the departures, the Seahawks lost many key players in the past offseason. The Las Vegas Raiders had hired former Seahawks coach Pete Carroll and were looking to get some of his former players to join him. This included Geno Smith, who had been the starting quarterback for Seattle for the last few years. They also traded DK Metcalf and released Tyler Lockett, leaving major holes in the offense. To fill the role of quarterback, the Seahawks signed Sam Darnold, a quarterback that most teams had turned their backs on, yet had led the Vikings to 14 wins the season prior. To fill the role of wide receiver, the Seahawks relied on Jaxson Smith-Njigba, a receiver from Ohio State who was solid last year and was looking to make a huge jump.
At the start of this season, both teams were ranked as the bottom ten teams in the NFL’s power rankings and had little to no hope of making the playoffs. The Seahawks had started the season 3-2, a respectable record; however, they did not seem llike a Super Bowl-caliber team. Yet, they would not back down. Their team was full of players who felt that they needed to prove themselves, and this was their moment to shine. Over the next 14 games, the Seahawks would go 14-1, losing only to the Los Angeles Rams, who were at the time, the #1 seed in the NFL. The Seahawks were on a tear and, with a consistent offense and suffocating defense, had overtaken the #1 seed in the NFC and had locked in a bye for the playoffs.
Looking at the Patriots, they also started the season rough, losing to the Raiders at home, one of only three wins the Raiders would achieve this season. However, just 4 weeks later, the Patriots were able to beat the Buffalo Bills in Buffalo in a primetime matchup that turned heads and started to show signs that the Patriots were contenders. Including this matchup, the Patriots were able to go 16-1 in their remaining schedule, locking in the #2 seed in the AFC and a home matchup against the Chargers in their Wildcard matchup.
The postseason was here, and it was time to show if the regular season was a fluke or if each team was built for the moment. Starting with the Patriots, in the Wildcard round, every game had been a thriller up to that point; however, the Patriots’ defense would change that. They would live in the backfield and had the Chargers fight for every yard and holding them to just three points while having almost 400 yards on offense, cruising to a victory.
After a dominating Wildcard weekend, the Patriots would be matched up against the Texans, another team on a huge win streak and a strong defense. Yet, under a loud crowd and an abundance of turnover by the Texans and CJ Stroud, the Texans had gifted the Patriots a win in the divisional round. This meant they were onto the AFC championship against the Broncos, one win away from the Super Bowl.
The Seahawks had earned a week off and also a chance to prove that they were not a fluke. They faced the San Francisco 49ers, who had injuries to crucial players, yet were always known to fight. On the first play, Rashid Shaheed would return an opening kickoff, causing a minor earthquake in Seattle from how loud the stadium got. Those seven points would outscore the 49ers through the entire game, winning 41-6, showing that the Seahawks were not here to mess around.
In the AFC championship game, the Patriots had to travel to Denver to face the Broncos without their starting quarterback in a game that was expected to be a Patriots blowout. On the first drive, however, the Broncos would score with ease and back the Patriots into a corner. The Patriots would score a touchdown in the second quarter, yet that would be all the scoring for the first half. The Patriots’ offense was stuck and was only able to score one field goal the rest of the game. It would be enough as the Patriots’ defense would hold the Broncos scoreless for almost the entire game and would punch the ticket to the Super Bowl.
In the NFC championship game, the Seahawks were looking to get revenge against the Los Angeles Rams, the only smudge on their record on their run for the #1 seed. The Seahawks would lead early, but the Rams would not give up. In a back-and-forth game, the Rams were at the goal line with just over two minutes left on fourth down, with a chance to take the lead. The Seahawks had been counted out so many times before, yet this time they would force an incomplete pass, securing their spot in the Super Bowl.
The matchup was set, Patriots vs. Seahawks, part 2. The line for the game was set in favor of the Seahawks by 4 points ina semi-low scoring game, and to start the game, this seemed to be true. The Seahawks would score a field goal on their first drive, but this would be a rarity as both teams would punt for the rest of the first quarter. The Seahawks defense was harassing the Patriots’ offensive line, giving Drake Maye almost no time to pass, leaving them to fight for almost every yard. While the Patriots’ defense tried to match the Seahawks, they let some scores through the cracks as the Seahawks would head into halftime winning 9-0.
While an electric performance by Bad Bunny was heard around the world, both locker rooms were preparing for the second half, their last chance to prove why they belonged. The Patriots had yet to score but were only down by 9 points, yet their struggles would continue through the break as they would punt. The Seahawks would capitalize and score a field goal and force a fumble towards the end of the third quarter, and score the first touchdown at the start of the fourth quarter, going up 19-0, making it a four-possession game, making it very difficult for the Patriots to come back. But they would not give up yet, as they would match their touchdown for their first points of the game, they would also force a Seahawks punt, and with a score could be right back in the game. Drake Maye would take the field, determined to come back, yet would throw a quick interception leading to a Seahawks field goal. The next time he took the field, he would throw a pick-six to seal the victory for the Seahawks.
The Seahawks would be Super Bowl LX champions, and similar to Indiana on the college football side, they were a team that had been counted out by all and proved everyone wrong. The Seahawks will be a team that will be remembered by all and is set up to be a dominant team for years to come.
