SAN FRANCISCO — Sam Darnold has been traded, discarded and labeled a bust.
Now, it'll take an upset for him not to be called a Super Bowl champion.
Darnold and the Seattle Seahawks (16-3) are 4 1/2-point favorites on BetMGM Sportsbook against Drake Maye and the New England Patriots (17-3) on Sunday.
It's a matchup that features two of the NFL's most balanced teams who have taken different routes to get here.
The Seahawks earned a first-round bye and then dominated the San Francisco 49ers 41-6 to reach the NFC championship game. Behind a spectacular game from Darnold, they beat the Los Angeles Rams 31-27 to advance to their fourth Super Bowl. They've won one and would've had back-to-back championships if Russell Wilson didn't throw a pick at the 1-yard line in the final minute of a 28-24 loss to New England 11 years ago.
The Patriots have relied on a dominant defense to reach this point because the NFL's second-highest scoring offense has slumped in the playoffs. After averaging 28.8 points per game in the regular season, they're down to 18 per game in the postseason and that includes a pick-6.
That's the fewest points by any team to make the Super Bowl since the 1979 Rams averaged 15 in the playoffs.
But New England's defense shut down Justin Herbert in a 16-3 win over the Los Angeles Chargers in the wild-card round. The Patriots intercepted C.J. Stroud four times and returned one for a score in a 28-16 victory over the Houston Texans. They held the Broncos to one touchdown in a 10-7 win in the AFC title game.
