New England Patriots, Seattle Seahawks punch Super Bowl tickets
The GIST: Two very different games later, and the Super Bowl LX matchup is officially set: the NFC No. 1 seed Seattle Seahawks vs. the AFC No. 2 New England Patriots. Here’s how it all went down on Championship Sunday.
❤️ Patriots run to NFL–record 12th Super Bowl appearance: Throwing the ball in a snow globe? Not easy. That’s why Pats quarterback (QB) Drake Maye used his legs, rushing for 65 yards and one touchdown (TD) in New England’s 10–7 win over the Denver Broncos, a dub punctuated by Patriots cornerback Christian Gonzalez’s fourth-quarter interception of Broncos backup QB Jarrett Stidham.
- Speaking of elite defenses, this is the third straight game the Patriots have lined up against a top-five defense, marking the first time since the 1966 AFL-NFL merger that a QB has beaten three top-five units in a single postseason.
💚 Seahawks outduel LA Rams in high-scoring battle: The third edition of this spicy divisional showdown did not disappoint, highlighted by Seahawks QB Sam Darnold’s best outing of the season. The journeyman signal caller threw for 346 yards and three TDs in the victory, connecting with his favorite target, All-Pro wide receiver (WR) Jaxon Smith-Njigba, 10 times for 153 yards.
- Rams QB Matthew Stafford authored a similar performance, finding WR Puka Nacua for 165 of his 374 passing yards. Despite both teams’ high offensive output, neither scored a single point in the fourth quarter, allowing the Seahawks to escape with a 31–27 win.
🏆 Way-too-early Super Bowl prediction: February 8th’s Big Game will be a rematch of Super Bowl XLIX — and honestly, not much has changed since 2015: A fearsome Seattle defense battling an MVP candidate Patriots QB? We’ve seen this film before.
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