New England Patriots vs. Seattle Seahawks

Super Bowl Sunday brings a fun one on paper: New England vs Seattle, a matchup with two very different team identities and two coaches who have left fingerprints all over their rosters — Mike Vrabel in his first year rebooting the Patriots culture, and Mike Macdonald turning the Seahawks into a fast, violent, game-plan defense that travels.

Let’s get this out of the way up front: this doesn’t grade out as a strong betting opinion. If this were a random Week 9 game, it wouldn’t make the contest card as one of the five best picks of the week. The Super Bowl is its own planet — two elite teams, a month of prep, and a number that gets hammered into efficiency. But everyone wants a pick on the big game, so here you go.

The headline is at quarterback: Drake Maye vs Sam Darnold. Maye is the higher-ceiling talent and the long-term cornerstone for New England, but the biggest concern in this spot is protection. The Patriots have survived some leaky moments up front, and Seattle’s entire defensive identity is built on creating chaos — pressure, disguised looks, and forcing young quarterbacks to hold the ball one extra beat. If Maye is playing off-schedule all night, the Patriots will need a lot of hero-ball completions to keep pace.

On the other side, Darnold doesn’t need to be flashy — he needs to be steady. Seattle’s path is pretty clear: avoid the killer turnover, hit a handful of chunk plays off play-action, and let Macdonald’s defense keep flipping the field. Vrabel’s teams are usually tough to run on and tough in the red zone, so expect Seattle to be patient early, take points, and trust that the game will tighten into a fourth-quarter decision.

What I like about Seattle is the combination of defense plus the ability to handle high-leverage moments. Macdonald’s group can win snaps without blitzing, and that’s the recipe against a talented quarterback: make him solve coverage while also feeling pressure. If the Seahawks can get Maye behind the chains and force long-yardage conversions, they’re in control of the script.

This feels like a close game for three quarters, with Seattle landing a couple key stops late.

Prediction: Patriots 20, Seahawks 27.