Super Bowl LX pick: Keys, X-factors and potential unsung heroes for Seahawks and Patriots

1. Can the Patriots rattle Sam Darnold?

New England’s chances of pulling an upset hinge on pressuring Sam Darnold into making mistakes. The best way to do that is up the middle with defensive tackles Christian Barmore and Milton Williams, the latter of whom had two sacks and a forced fumble for the Eagles in last year’s 40-22 Super Bowl rout of the Chiefs. Barmore and Williams have three sacks and 25 pressures in three playoff games. Darnold is turnover-free in the postseason but threw 14 regular-season interceptions, third-most in the NFL. Seattle right guard Anthony Bradford is the weak link to target. He ranks 112^th among NFL guards, according to Pro Football Focus, and has allowed seven pressures and a sack this postseason. The Patriots have a playoff-high eight takeaways. Seattle has no giveaways as Darnold has completed 70% of his passes with four touchdowns and a 122.4 passer rating.

On the Access Vikings podcast, Seahawks quarterbacks coach Andrew Janocko talks about working Darnold this year:

2. Can Seattle contain Maye’s legs?

Drake Maye led the league in completion percentage (72.0) and yards per attempt (8.9) in the regular season but hasn’t been stellar in the playoffs with 15 sacks and five turnovers. Then again, the Patriots wouldn’t be here without the 23-year-old’s ability to extend plays with his legs in critical situations. He ran for 65 yards, the game’s only touchdown and the game-clinching first down on a 7-yard keeper in the AFC title game at Denver. Maye has 141 yards rushing and 11 first downs on 24 postseason carries, a 5.9-yard average that tops all postseason rushers with more than 10 carries. Maye had 450 rushing yards in the regular season but was sacked 47 times, fourth-most. Seattle’s 38.9% pressure rate — fourth highest — required a blitz rate of only 22%, which ranked 25^th.

3. Patriots secondary vs. Jaxon Smith-Njigba

Bad weather and three of the best cornerbacks in football have helped New England post a playoff-low 3.81 yards allowed per pass play. No receiver in the postseason has topped 62 yards against the Patriots. Now comes Seattle’s Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who led the league with 1,793 receiving yards, accounted for 46.2% of Seattle’s passing game and torched the Rams with 10 catches for 153 yards and a touchdown in the NFC title game. Darnold has two other dangerous receivers in Cooper Kupp and Rashid Shaheed, but New England’s secondary is elite, specializes in man coverage and has three of Pro Football Focus’ top 24 corners (minimum 247 snaps) in Carlton Davis III (17^th), Marcus Jones (23^rd) and Christian Gonzalez (24^th).

Coaches hired within the last two seasons are meeting in the Super Bowl for only the fourth time. Crowned NFL Coach of the Year for the second time in five years after his first season in New England, Mike Vrabel is trying to become the first person to win the Super Bowl as a player and head coach with the same team. Seattle’s Mike Macdonald, hired in 2024, can become the third-youngest head coach to win a Super Bowl (38 years, 227 days) behind Sean McVay (36 years, 20 days) and Mike Tomlin (36 years, 323 days). Vrabel played for three of Bill Belichick’s six Super Bowl champion teams and hopes to help New England become the first team to win a seventh Super Bowl, breaking a tie with Pittsburgh. Both coaches have well-rounded teams. For the first time since 1970, both Super Bowl teams rank in the top four in scoring offense and scoring defense.

1. The speed that is Rashid Shaheed

A midseason trade acquisition from New Orleans, Shaheed and his speed on returns, deep balls and jet sweeps have been invaluable for the Seahawks. His 51-yard catch set up a touchdown against the Rams in the NFC title game. His 95-yard kickoff return for a touchdown opened the 49ers game the week before. Including playoffs, Shaheed has two kick return touchdowns and one punt return touchdown. With many eyes fixed on Smith-Njigba and Kupp in the passing game and bowling-ball Kenneth Walker III in the running game, Shaheed could be the guy Darnold and offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak look to target deep versus single coverage in key moments.

2. New England’s Jones also special

Three teams returned kicks and punts for touchdowns this year. Two of them are in the Super Bowl. Jones had two punt returns for touchdowns while averaging 17.3 yards per return, tied for the league lead. Jones’ career average of 14.3 yards per punt return ranks first in NFL history among qualified players. Including playoffs, Jones also has four interceptions, two of them for touchdowns, this season.

We can’t discuss a rematch of Super Bowl XLIX — won by the Patriots when Malcolm Butler intercepted Russell Wilson at the 1-yard line in the closing seconds — without looking at each team’s red-zone defenses. Unlike Super Bowl XLIX, New England comes up short here. The Patriots ranked 30^th in red-zone defense, allowing teams to score on 67.5% of their trips this season. Seattle ranked fifth (50.0%).

1. Kyle Williams, Patriots WR

It doesn’t get any more unsung than this rookie third-round draft pick. He has been targeted four times in the playoffs, catching one ball for seven yards. But … there could be a moment in the game when all eyes are elsewhere and Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels sneaks a look to a speedster who averaged 20.9 yards on 10 catches in the regular season. Williams’ three TDs were all longer than 30 yards.

2. Boye Mafe, Seahawks edge rusher

The ex-Gopher and Golden Valley native had 18 sacks in his first three seasons after being drafted in the second round in 2022, but he had just two in 2025 and has none in the playoffs. Mafe will be going mostly against Patriots rookie left tackle Will Campbell in the Super Bowl. Campbell, the No. 4 overall pick, has struggled since a November knee injury. He’s allowed a playoff-high 11 pressures and three sacks.