Following Sunday’s action, New England and Seattle have emerged as champions of the AFC and NFC respectively. The two teams will travel to Santa Clara, California for this year’s Super Bowl showdown in two weeks.
The game will be a rematch of Super Bowl XLIX eleven years prior, in which the Patriots defeated Seattle 28-24 with the help of Malcolm Butler’s goal-line interception of Russell Wilson.
New England will be looking to add a seventh Lombardi trophy, the most of any franchise all-time. They are led by first year Head Coach Mike Vrabel, who won three trophies as a player in the 2000s. He will look to become the first person to win a Super Bowl as both a player and coach for the same franchise.
Quarterback Drake Maye is a top MVP candidate after leading the Patriots to the Super Bowl for the first time since Brady in 2019. The 23-year-old showed his dual-threat ability as he managed the offense through adverse weather conditions in the AFC Championship win.
He gave credit to his relationship with offensive coordinator Josh McDaniel:
“He did a great job of doing what we do best and also mixing it up. I think we still haven’t played our best football yet and I’m looking forward to seeing it click in the Super Bowl.”
Pats fans are hopeful that the pair can reignite the embers of a dynasty and return to being perennial AFC heavyweights after a last place finish the year before. Fans have been left starved for success ever since the departure of Tom Brady following the 2019 season. If anyone can return New England to the ‘Patriot Way’ it is Mike Vrabel.
Following the win over Denver, Vrabel said: “You get everyone to believe in something and buy in. Nothing comes without adversity. I do this for the players. I’ve been in their position. It’s amazing and I want other people to feel that feeling.”
Meanwhile, Seattle have also achieved an impressive turnaround from last season under Head Coach Mike MacDonald. After missing the playoffs in 2024, MacDonald achieved a franchise best 14 wins this year, clinching the NFC one seed and reaching the Super Bowl in only his second year.
Alongside MacDonald, first year defensive coordinator Aden Durde has forged a unit to rival the historic Seattle ‘Legion of Boom’ defence from the 2010s. The Englishman will be a hot candidate for head coaching roles following the Super Bowl.
The Seahawks are led on the field by Sam Darnold, who is on his fifth team since entering the league. The journeyman quarterback has come into his own this year in Klint Kubiak’s system, positioning himself as MVP frontrunner after knocking off the LA Rams to win the NFC.
Darnold said he is unfazed by those who still doubt him:
“It’s the belief I have in myself, my teammates and coaching staff. We’re a pretty good football team and we know that in the locker room. It doesn’t matter what anyone says outside our building and we’re going to keep it that way.”
The two former top five picks will duel it out at Levi’s Stadium on February 8 for the chance to hoist the Lombardi trophy and etch their names in franchise history. Kick-off is set for 23:30 UK time.
Photo by Caleb Woods on Unsplash
