Seattle Seahawks open as early NFL favourites over the New England Patriots for Super Bowl LX
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Sam Darnold of the Seattle Seahawks running with the ball during the fourth quarter of their 31-27 NFL win over the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC championship game at Lumen Field on Jan 25.
PHOTO: AFP
LOS ANGELES – In 2015, the New England Patriots defeated the Seattle Seahawks by four points to win the Super Bowl in the National Football League (NFL).
Bookmakers are looking for a similarly close game this time around too, except with Seattle making the plays to come out on top.
Hours after the Patriots and the Seahawks booked their reservations on Jan 25 for Super Bowl LX, Seattle were listed as the early favourites.
The Super Bowl will be played in Santa Clara, California, on Feb 8.
Both teams finished the regular season with 14-3 records, tied with the Denver Broncos for the best record in the league.
Denver got the American Football Conference (AFC) No. 1 seed and first-round bye over New England by way of a tiebreaker, but the Patriots beat the hosts Broncos in the AFC championship game 10-7 on Jan 25, with the game ending in snow flurries.
After the dominant era of the Tom Brady dynasty that yielded six Super Bowl titles, New England have endured a painful rebuild. But under new coach Mike Vrabel, they have been a revelation in this 2025-26 season.
Vrabel, who won three Super Bowls playing alongside Brady for the Patriots, could be the first person to win the sport’s ultimate prize as a player and coach for the same franchise.
Brady, now a TV commentator, said he was “just so happy” for Vrabel.
“Went to New England, no one was quite sure how they’d do (after) back-to-back 4-13 (win-loss) seasons, and they turn it into a road AFC victory in Denver,” said Brady. “I know how hard that is.”
In the day’s second game, the Seahawks held off their National Football Conference West rivals the Los Angeles Rams, winning 31-27 in the third meeting between the teams this season as quarterback Sam Darnold outdid Rams counterpart Matthew Stafford.
The Seahawks’ win marked the latest milestone in what has been a fairy-tale campaign for 28-year-old Darnold, who has enjoyed a renaissance with Seattle this season after a rocky start to his career.
“It’s amazing, to be able to do this with these guys in this locker room, with this coaching staff – it means the world to me,” said Darnold, who played for four different teams before joining Seattle in 2025.
A high-scoring game is expected at the Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara on Feb 8 as the Patriots are the NFL’s second-highest scoring team this season at 28.8 points per game, with the Seahawks right behind at 28.4.
Seattle have the stingiest defence, allowing 17.2 points per game, while New England are fourth with 18.8.
This will be the second Super Bowl meeting between the Seahawks and the Patriots.
New England beat then defending champions Seattle in Super Bowl XLIX (49) on Feb 1, 2015, when Patriots defensive back Malcolm Butler intercepted Russell Wilson at the goal line with 20 seconds left in the game to seal the 28-24 win in Glendale, Arizona. REUTERS, AFP
