SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — A heralded defense vs. an underrated one. A celebrated second-year quarterback vs. a veteran QB who has gone from perceived bust to beloved. An All-Pro wide receiver vs. one of the NFL’s best young cornerbacks.
This year’s Super Bowl matchup between the New England Patriots (17-3) and Seattle Seahawks (16-3) is all about contrasts.
And it starts with the coaches who will lead their teams onto the field.
Being a part of the final game of the NFL season is nothing new for Patriots coach Mike Vrabel, who won three Super Bowls as a player with New England.
Vrabel, 50, can become the fifth person in NFL history to win the Super Bowl as both a player and a head coach, joining Pro Football Hall of Famers Mike Ditka, Tony Dungy and Tom Flores as well as Doug Pederson.
He’ll match wits with 38-year-old Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald, who is in his first Super Bowl in just his second year in Seattle.
When the Patriots have the ball
New England wouldn’t be here without the play of Drake Maye. After showing flashes of his potential to develop into a franchise quarterback as a rookie, Maye has solidified that status in Year 2 under offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels.
He finished second in MVP voting and led the NFL by completing 72% of his passes this season. He threw for 4,394 yards and 31 touchdowns with only eight interceptions thanks to production from a group of receivers led by veteran Stefon Diggs.
It’s the main reason that Maye could become the fifth quarterback to win the Super Bowl in his first or second season, joining Tom Brady, Ben Roethlisberger, Hall of Famer Kurt Warner and Russell Wilson.
But he’ll have to find a way to put points on the board against a Seattle defense that finished in the top seven in the league in sacks and interceptions.
Maye is the first quarterback in history to win three games against top-five defenses in a single playoffs — the Chargers (No. 5), Texans (No. 1) and Broncos (No. 2). The Seahawks are No. 6.
The Patriots also are in good position because of a defense that finished the regular season ranked in the top 10 in total defense, rush defense, pass defense and points allowed. New England’s defense has allowed just two touchdowns this postseason.
That has helped silence voices from the outside that were critical of New England’s regular-season schedule, which ranked as the easiest in the NFL, with opponents finishing with a combined 113-176 record.
When the Seahawks have the ball
Seattle’s offense, which ranked fifth in the NFL in points per game, is a multidimensional unit, even though it is led by the league’s leading receiver in Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak — who is expected to land a job as head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders — has put a system in place that brings out the best in its players, both in the run and passing games.
Quarterback Sam Darnold is fresh off his second Pro Bowl season and has shown that he is not afraid of slinging the ball downfield or even making a few mistakes. During the regular season, Darnold led all NFL quarterbacks in turnovers, but he displayed some of his best football in the playoffs, including when he played through an oblique injury and completed 25 of 36 passes for 346 yards with three touchdowns and no turnovers in the NFC championship game.
The Seahawks’ run game is surging, too, led by running back Kenneth Walker III, who is in a contract year and could be playing his final game in a Seattle uniform. Walker has a penchant for running outside the tackles and busting runs around the right and left sides of the offensive line.
And then there’s veteran wide receiver Cooper Kupp, who continues to lead on and off the field in his first season with the Seahawks after eight standout ones with the Los Angeles Rams.
Even if Seattle’s offense struggles, it should be buoyed by a defense that is arguably its greatest strength. No team allowed fewer points per game (17.2) this season, and Seattle finished in the top seven in the league in sacks and interceptions.
Special teams
If Sunday’s game is dominated by defense, this matchup could be key.
The Patriots always have a chance to get into the end zone when returning punts, thanks to the explosiveness of Marcus Jones. He had punt returns of 94 and 87 yards this season while finishing tied with Tennessee Titans receiver Chimere Dike with a 17.3-yard punt return average.
Rookie kicker Anthony Borregales also has been dependable, connecting on 27 of 32 field-goal attempts, including all four of 50-plus yards.
But the Seahawks are anything but slouches when it comes to special teams, led by second-year coordinator Jay Harbaugh. Including these playoffs, Seattle has scored five special teams touchdowns, four of them on returns.
Speedy wide receiver Rashid Shaheed, whom the Seahawks acquired from the New Orleans Saints in November, returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown in the divisional round against the San Francisco 49ers. The Seahawks also have quite the weapon in kicker Jason Myers. In his 11th season, Myers set the NFL record for most points by a kicker in a single season with 171, surpassing David Akers’ 166.
Coaching
Vrabel’s biggest attribute this season was inspiring a locker room that before this season had only 18 players who’d ever appeared in a playoff game.
He trusts his coaching staff and has benefited from having an offensive coordinator in McDaniels, who was around for each of New England’s six Super Bowl wins.
Regardless of how Super Bowl 60 shakes out, the Seahawks’ coaching staff is not expected to stay together as currently configured for much longer. Kubiak appears to be on his way to Las Vegas, and it’s unclear who may follow the offensive coordinator.
Either way, it’s a star-studded coaching staff led by Macdonald, whose focus on defense has made him a perfect fit for the Seahawks.
Intangibles
While this technically is a rematch of Super Bowl 49, won by the Patriots in dramatic fashion thanks to Malcolm Butler’s interception of Russell Wilson, this is certainly a new era for both teams.
New England’s season has a Cinderella-like feel to it, but the belief and trust that Vrabel’s players have in him is very real. They feel like they are taking the field with a guy who gets what they’ve gone through.
And that could be the thing that gets this Patriots team over the hump.
The Seahawks, meanwhile, dominated this season in a way that they expected of themselves. En route to rattling off the most regular-season wins in franchise history, Seattle nicknamed its defense the “Dark Side.”
The confidence this group exudes is abundantly clear, whether it be in practices, games or media availabilities.
For Seattle, this Super Bowl is not a shot at redemption for 11 years ago; rather, it is a chance to separate itself as one of the best teams in franchise history.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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