When the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots square off today in Super Bowl LX in Santa Clara, California, it will be an opportunity for the Seahawks to avenge a single play that has haunted their fans for more than a decade.
It was 11 years ago that the two franchises were part of one of the most memorable games in NFL history. In the waning seconds of Super Bowl XLIX, with the Patriots clinging to a 28-24 lead and the defending Super Bowl champion Seahawks knocking on the doorstep of a second straight title, Patriots corner Malcolm Butler intercepted Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson on the goal line to secure the Patriots’ fourth Super Bowl title.
The stunning moment marked a divergence of sorts for the two teams. The Seahawks, then led by coach Pete Carroll and the “Legion of Boom” defense, would fail to make another NFC title game until this season. The Patriots would go on to win two more Super Bowls with legendary coach-QB duo Bill Belichick and Tom Brady. But after Brady’s departure from the Patriots in 2020, Belichick struggled to sustain success.
Then, in January 2024, in a twist of fate, the Seahawks parted ways with Carroll just one day before the Patriots did the same with Belichick. It was the end of an era for the league.
After just a few short years of relative irrelevance, the Patriots, to the frustration of the rest of the NFL, have quickly ushered in a new chapter of success, segueing from Belichick and Brady to coach Mike Vrabel and QB savant Drake Maye. For the Seahawks, Carroll and Wilson — who was traded to the Broncos in 2022 — have been replaced by coach Mike MacDonald and veteran QB Sam Darnold.
Once considered a draft bust, Darnold could cap one of the greatest redemption arcs ever seen in football if he hoists the Lombardi Trophy on Sunday night, while the Patriots will be hoping that Maye can recreate the magic of Brady’s first Super Bowl title in 2001, when he led them to an upset over a heavily-favored St. Louis Rams team.
Follow the latest updates from Super Bowl LIX below:
After the departures of coaches Pete Carroll and Bill Belichick in January 2024, both the Seahawks and Patriots hit the reset button and underwent rapid rebuilds. Heading into the 2025 season, neither team was expected to be among the top echelon of contenders.
This marks the first time since 1989 that two teams with preseason title odds of 60-to-1 or worse have made the Super Bowl, according to Pro Football Reference and The Athletic’s Mike Sando.
To reach the Super Bowl, the Patriots engineered one of the biggest turnarounds in NFL history. After finishing 2024 with a 4-13 record, they fired one-and-done head coach Jerod Mayo and replaced him with the seasoned Mike Vrabel, a former Patriots linebacker who made his coaching bones with the Tennessee Titans.
Vrabel, taking advantage of one of the easiest schedules in NFL history, led the Patriots to a 14-3 regular season record and the No. 2 seed in the AFC. In the playoffs, with QB Drake Maye struggling, the Patriots leaned on their defense, dispatching the Los Angeles Chargers and Houston Texans in the first two rounds. Then, in a snowy, icy AFC title game in Denver’s Mile High Stadium — one week after Broncos starting QB Bo Nix broke his ankle — the Patriots did just enough against backup QB Jarrett Stidham to eke out a 10-7 win.
In Mike Macdonald’s first year as Seahawks head coach in 2024, Seattle just missed out on the playoffs despite finishing with a 10-7 record. QB Geno Smith was replaced in the offseason with veteran signal-caller Sam Darnold, who has resurrected his career after being cast off by the New York Jets.
Playing in the toughest division in football, one that produced three playoff teams with a combined record of 38-13, the Seahawks defeated the San Francisco 49ers in Week 18 to finish with a 14-3 record and clinch the No. 1 seed in the NFC and a first-round bye.
In the divisional round, they crushed the injury-plagued 49ers 41-6, and then in a back-and-forth thriller, defeated the Los Angeles Rams 31-27 in the NFC title game.
Despite their heralded legacy and six titles — tied with the Pittsburgh Steelers for the most of any NFL team — the Patriots are unquestionable underdogs going into their matchup with the Seahawks.
As of Sunday afternoon, the Seahawks were 4.5-point favorites, according to DraftKings. The line opened at 3.5 points, and has only shifted more in the Seahawks favor.
While both the Seahawks and Patriots finished the season with a top five offense and defense, according to Pro Football Reference, the Seahawks took a more difficult path to get to the big game, navigating a tougher conference and an even tougher division.
According to CBS Sports, Patriots opponents this season had a paltry .391 combined winning percentage, the lowest for any NFL team since the 1999 St. Louis Rams, who happened to win the Super Bowl that season.
The over-under for the game sits at 45.5 points, according to DraftKings, meaning oddsmakers expect it to be a low-scoring affair.
If history is a guide, meanwhile, the Super Bowl MVP award will likely go to a quarterback, as it has in seven of the last 10 Super Bowls, including the last three.
The last time a non-QB took the award was in 2022, when wide receiver Cooper Kupp won for helping the Rams defeat the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl LVI.
Ironically, the Rams traded Kupp to the Seahawks last summer, and the 32-year-old will be suiting up on Sunday.
The American Gaming Association estimates that Americans will wager a record $1.76 billion on Super Bowl LX.
Retired quarterback Tom Brady, who won six Super Bowls with the New England Patriots — and has a statue outside Gillette Stadium in Foxboro — is receiving criticism after saying on a podcast last week that he doesn’t have a rooting interest in the Super Bowl.
“I don’t have a dog in the fight in this one, may the best team win,” Brady told Jim Gray on the “Let’s Go” podcast.
Brady is now a Fox broadcaster and minority owner of the Las Vegas Raiders. Retired Patriots defensive tackle Vince Wilfork didn’t mince words about his former teammate’s comments.
“That’s bullcrap Tom,” Wilfork told WEEI Radio Wednesday. “Come on now. All that political, this ain’t political. It ain’t political, what it is. The Raiders ain’t in it? Say what it is, what you see…End of the day, if you are a Patriot for life, you know what it is. Don’t give me that political bullcrap. That’s just what it is. If you don’t think we’re gonna win, just pick Seattle then.”
On Friday, seemingly in response to the uproar from Patriot nation, Brady posted an Instagram story with a photo of Brady and Patriots owner Robert Kraft, and a caption that read, “You know I got your back RKK. Get that 7th ring so we can match.”
In the week leading up to the big game, fans who wanted to attend in person at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, needed to be prepared to shell out thousands of dollars on seats.
On Thursday, the lowest price for a single seat was $4,447 on StubHub, $4,840 on Ticketmaster, $4,757 on SeatGeek and $4,288 on TickPick. The cheapest ticket was $4,169 on Vivid Seats.
On Wednesday, the most expensive seat for the SuperBowl was $30,751 per ticket on StubHub, according to CBS Sports. Those seats were behind Seattle’s bench in prime viewing territory. CBS Sports writer John Breech recently made his way to Levi’s Stadium to give fans a sense of the view from the seats with the luxury price tag.
Democrats on the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee are warning Americans to beware of a range of Super Bowl scams circulating this year.
“Unfortunately, fans need to be aware that criminal fraudsters may try to steal their money and personal information through a variety of illegal sports betting, ticketing and merchandise scams,” Sen. Maggie Hassan, a Democrat from New Hampshire and ranking member of the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee, told CBS News.
Those scams can involve sports betting, ticketing and merchandise.
According to the Joint Economic Committee, some criminals are creating fake websites that mimic actual gambling platforms, such as FanDuel and DraftKings.
Super Bowl LX is not only the NFL’s biggest stage — it’s also a make-or-break broadcast for commercials, with the nation’s top brands spending millions on 30- and 60-second ads aimed at winning over an audience that could top 100 million viewers.
For companies, the reputational and financial stakes are high. Running a 30-second ad during this year’s Super Bowl will cost as much as $10 million, according to Bloomberg News. Advertisers also shell out millions more to produce their spots, often paying top dollar for celebrity spokespeople and to promote their commercials ahead of the big game.
Click here to check out the already released ads and teasers.
