New England (17-3) at Seattle (16-3)
Sunday, 6:30 p.m. EST, NBC.
Against the spread: Patriots 14-6; Seahawks 14-5
Series record: Seahawks lead 11-9
Last meeting: Seattle beat New England 23-20 in overtime on Sept. 15, 2024.
Last game: The Seahawks beat the Rams 31-27 in the NFC championship game. New England beat Denver 10-7 in the AFC championship game.
Patriots offense: overall (3), rush (6), pass (4), scoring (2).
Patriots defense: overall (8), rush (5), pass (9), scoring (4).
Seahawks offense: overall (T-7), rush (T-10), pass (8), scoring (5).
Seahawks defense: overall (6), rush (3), pass (10), scoring (1).
Turnover differential: Patriots plus-3; Seahawks minus-3.
QB Drake Maye. In his second season, Maye has thrived working for the first time with offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. Maye is the fourth quarterback since 2000 to win each of his first three career playoff starts, joining Tom Brady (won first 10), Joe Burrow (three) and Jake Delhomme (three). Maye is also 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).
RB Kenneth Walker III. The fourth-year running back has been on a roll since Zach Charbonnet was injured. In the playoffs, Walker has averaged 4.7 yards per carry, and has 256 yards of total offense with four touchdowns rushing. Walker will have to work for his yards against New England’s run defense, but he’s been able to rise to the occasion in the playoffs.
QB Sam Darnold against the Patriots secondary. While Darnold has played through an oblique injury the past two games, he impressed during the win against the Rams. Darnold completed 25 of 36 passes for 346 yards with three touchdowns in the NFC title game. He will have his work cut out against a Patriots defense that allowed the ninth-fewest passing yards per game in the regular season, as well as the fourth-fewest points per game.
Seahawks: Left tackle Charles Cross, who has been limited because of multiple injuries since mid-December, was a limited participant in practice on Wednesday with a foot injury. Darnold was limited because of his oblique injury. Safety Nick Emmanwori, who broke up three passes in the NFC championship game, injured his ankle during Wednesday's practice. Emmanwori said Thursday that he expects to play in the game. He was a full participant on Friday. FB Robbie Ouzts is listed as questionable for the game.
Patriots: After being limited in one practice with a right shoulder issue during the Super Bowl bye week, Maye returned to full participation on Wednesday. ... LB Robert Spillane, who injured his ankle in the AFC championship game, is questionable along with DL Joshua Farmer (hamstring), DE Harold Landry (knee).
The Seahawks have won three in a row against the Patriots, but New England holds ultimate bragging rights with its 28-24 win against Seattle in Super Bowl 49. Patriots cornerback Malcolm Butler intercepted Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson with 20 seconds remaining in the game. Each of the past six games between these two teams has been decided by seven or fewer points. While the Seahawks were still in the AFC, they won five games in a row against the Patriots from 1989-1993. New England won the first three games in this series, including a 31-0 shutout Oct. 9, 1977.
The Patriots are making their 12th Super Bowl appearance. They are 6-5 in their previous 11. ... With a win Sunday, the Patriots will break a tie with the Pittsburgh Steelers for the most Super Bowl wins in NFL history. ... With a victory, New England would also join the 1981 San Francisco 49ers, the 1999 St. Louis Rams, the 2001 Patriots, the 2017 Philadelphia Eagles and the 2020 Tampa Bay Buccaneers as the only teams to follow a losing record with a Super Bowl victory. ... The Patriots are the sixth team to have reached a Super Bowl after winning five or fewer games the previous season. The Rams and Patriots were the only teams to win the Super Bowl from that group. ... The Patriots were 9-0 on the road this season. They are the first team in NFL history to play at least nine games on the road and win them all. ... DT Milton Williams will play in his second consecutive Super Bowl. He won a ring with the Eagles last season. ... Patriots rookie running back TreVeyon Henderson led the NFL with four TD runs of 50–plus yards (52, 55, 65 and 69) this season. It tied the league record for the most in a season by a rookie joining Saquon Barkley (2018) and Lenny Moore (1956). ... CB Marcus Jones returned an interception for a touchdown in the divisional round against the Texans. With another, he will join Asante Samuel as the only Patriots player with two in a single postseason. He'd also join Ty Law as the second Patriots player with a pick-6 in a Super Bowl. ... CB Carlton Davis III had two INTs in the divisional round against Houston. With a third on Sunday he would join Rodney Harrison, Ty Law and Fred Marion as the only Patriots players with at least three in a single postseason. ... Seattle earned its first division title since 2020, and 12th in franchise history. ... The Seahawks have 14 regular-season wins for the first time in franchise history. The Seahawks previous franchise record for wins in a season was 13, which happened in the 2013 and 2005 seasons. Seattle won the Super Bowl after the 2013 season. Seattle went 10-7 last season and hasn’t had a losing season since 2021 under Pete Carroll. ... The Seahawks had five players selected to the 2025 All-Pro team, matching a franchise record, with WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba earning first-team honors and DT Leonard Williams, CB Devon Witherspoon, LB Ernest Jones IV, and P Michael Dickson making the second team. … Smith-Njigba, who led the NFL in receiving yards this season, has also had 100 or more catches in consecutive seasons. He had 119 catches in the 2025 season. ... Seahawks TE A.J. Barner has set single-season career highs in receptions (52), yards (519) and touchdowns (six). … Ernest Jones IV had five interceptions this season for Seattle, tied for second most in the NFL. Jones also had one in Seattle’s divisional round win over the 49ers. … Kenneth Walker III tied Shaun Alexander’s record for TD runs in a playoff game with three in Seattle’s divisional-round victory over the San Francisco 49ers. … Sam Darnold had his most yards passing in a game of the season when completing 25 of 36 passes for 346 yards against the Rams in the NFC championship game.
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