Get ready for the “Big Game” – or any event you need catered – with Walk-On’s NEW catering program!
Visit Catering.Walk-Ons.com or use the Walk-On’s app to place your order and then pick up your food order
at one of the three Tampa Bay area locations – Wesley Chapel, Midtown Tampa or Lakeland

SEAHAWKS vs. PATRIOTS

WHEN: Sunday, February 8th, 2026 | WHERE: Levi’s Stadium | KICKOFF: 6:30 p.m. ET | TV: NBC/Peacock

PLAY-BY-PLAY: Mike Tirico | ANALYSTS: Cris Collinsworth | SIDELINE: Melissa Stark and Kaylee Hartung

Super Bowl LX is approaching, and the Pewter Report staff is making a special game prediction. We are offering up our game preview of this week’s matchup for the Lombardi Trophy. Let us know what you think in the article comments section and add your prediction, too.

Scott Reynolds: A New Patriots Dynasty Begins (Sorry!)

Mike Vrabel is the more experienced coach in this year’s Super Bowl. Vrabel had postseason success in Tennessee as a coach before returning to New England this season where he won Super Bowls with the Patriots alongside Tom Brady. I think his big-game experience will help the underdog Patriots upset the Seahawks in Santa Clara on Sunday. I love the physicality he preaches along the trenches and the way the New England defense flies around and hits and make plays.

Bucs OLB Chris Braswell and Patriots QB Drake Maye – Photo by: USA Today

I think the Pats have the cornerback who can slow down Jaxon Smith-Njigba in Christian Gonzalez. JSN is not going to be neutralized, but I think Gonzalez is good enough to keep him from going off when those are matched up. As long as the Patriots defensive front keeps Kenneth Walker III from going off in the ground game, I think New England can get to Sam Darnold and get him off his game. The Seahawks have won nine straight games and it just feels like it’s time for Darnold to come unraveled due to the pressure.

I also think Drake Maye is the better quarterback, and that usually decides the outcome of most Super Bowls. Maye threw for 31 touchdowns and just eight interceptions in his second season in New England. I think he has the chance to have a more prolific game in the Super Bowl than Darnold, who threw for 25 touchdowns and 14 interceptions during the regular season.

Maye has been a little shakier in the postseason with four touchdowns and two interceptions, but I think his mobility will show up on Sunday and help him outduel Darnold for the win. He could be the next Tom Brady, and if he is, you know what that means. We could be seeing the dawn of another Patriots dynasty – much to the chagrin of NFL fans outside of New England.

REYNOLDS’ GAME PREDICTION: Patriots 23, Seahawks 20

Matt Matera: Everything Tends To Go The Way Of The Patriots

The characters are different, but the story remains the same. First it was Tom Brady and Bill Belichick, now it’s Drake Maye and Mike Vrabel. I don’t know what kind of lucky token Robert Kraft and the Patriots organization has, but everyone expected the dynasty to be over when Tom Brady went to the Bucs to win a Super Bowl and Belichick eventually departed for the college ranks. Yet here we are just a couple of years later and New England is back to playing the in big game. I don’t need stats, facts or a scheme breakdown to know that the Pats always seem to come out on top in these moments.

Patriots HC Mike Vrabel and QB Drake Maye – Photo by: USA Today

If we are going to look deeper into the game, I believe everyone is still sleeping on the New England defense. I know they played the Chargers with no offensive line, the Texans with abysmal quarterback play, and then a backup quarterback against the Broncos in a snow storm. But the Patriots defense takes the ball away and shuts you down. Former Bucs corner Carlton Davis III has had a couple of interceptions for New England this postseason and Christian Gonzlaez has the speed to stay with Jaxon Smith-Njigba. It makes for a very interesting matchup.

Its great to see Sam Darnold revive his career and play so well in Seattle. He will have his moments and make some splash plays. Rashid Shaheed and Cooper Kupp will be a factor as well. But I also look at how the Rams were able to score often against the Seahawks two weeks ago and I don’t see why the Pats can’t do that either.

Drake Maye is due for a great postseason game and Steffon Diggs is due as well. They also have a great running combo with Rhamondre Stevenson and TreyVeyon Henderson, making them tough to stop consistently. This game will be close, but the Pats start another Super Bowl chapter.

MATERA’S GAME PREDICTION: Patriots 34, Seahawks 31

Adam Slivon: Sam Darnold Finally Rids The Ghosts That Have Haunted Him

Sam Darnold has gone from an overlooked quarterback deemed a “bust” to leading his team to a Super Bowl. Who would have thought? Much like Baker Mayfield, Darnold has had to overcome many doubters who wrote him off after stints with the Jets and Panthers did not work out. It took hitting the reset button with the 49ers that allowed him to have a career year with the Vikings. His first year in Seattle has proven that he is a franchise quarterback capable of winning games.

Seahawks RB Kenneth Walker III and QB Sam Darnold – Photo by: USA Today

I see that trend continuing on Sunday. The matchup between the Seahawks and Patriots is one no one expected, not with Seattle finishing 10-7 in 2024 playing in a stacked NFC West, and with New England finishing just 4-13 last season. Yet each team is the last one standing in their respective conferences. The storylines are one thing, but the starpower is another.

Drake Maye proved this season that he is one of the best quarterbacks in the league, and the Pats play a physical brand of football under Mike Vrabel. They look eerily similar to the team that won its first Super Bowl with Tom Brady in 2001, anchored by veterans surrounding a young quarterback.

Both teams rank in the top five in both scoring offense and defense, having no trouble putting up points throughout the season and simultaneously stymying their opponents. Still, I would give the Seahawks the slight edge here. They have a truly stingy defense under Mike Macdonald, with a Legion of Boom 2.0 that will make Maye’s day through the air difficult. Offensively, the best skill position player on either side is Jaxon Smith-Njigba, and Seattle has a balanced attack with future Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak calling plays.

The Pats made it to the big game, which is a Cinderella story in its own right. I just do not believe they are ready to reach the pinnacle. A fitting conclusion to this season would be seeing Darnold finally ridding himself of the ghosts that once haunted him.

SLIVON’S GAME PREDICTION: Seahawks 30, Patriots 24

Bailey Adams: Seahawks Will Rightfully Be Crowned As Champions

The Patriots have done extremely well to get to this point, on one hand. With former Patriot Mike Vrabel in his first year as New England’s head coach, the team has taken on his traits and plays a brand of football that is tough and smart. This isn’t a squad that makes a ton of mistakes, and it’s a big reason why the AFC representative in the Super Bowl once again hails from Foxborough. Not to mention, second-year quarterback Drake Maye was exceptional in the regular season and has done enough throughout the playoffs to complement a very good defense.

With all of that said, though, I believe the Seahawks will soon be rightfully crowned as Super Bowl champions. I think they’re simply the better, more complete team right now and as long as Sam Darnold doesn’t make a flurry of mistakes, Seattle should be able to get the job done. Mike Macdonald’s defense is phenomenal, Darnold has continued his career resurgence and Jaxon Smith-Njigba has fully broken out as one of the game’s best receivers this year. Not to mention, the acquisition of Rashid Shaheed from the Saints continues to pay dividends. Don’t be surprised if he makes a game-changing play on Sunday night.

Seahawks WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba – Photo by: USA Today

Beyond the fact that I believe Seattle is the better team in this matchup, it has simply felt for a while now like whoever emerged out of the NFC and represented the conference in the Super Bowl would ultimately go on to win the Lombardi Trophy. All year long, it felt like there were two teams that were head and shoulders above the rest of the league and would be the likeliest champions. It could’ve been the Rams at one point, but the Seahawks battled through and won the right to return to the Super Bowl. Now, I think it’s their time to finish the job and hoist the trophy again.

Contrast that with a weaker year from the AFC and a playoff field without Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs, Lamar Jackson and the Ravens and Joe Burrow and the Bengals, and you could see how the scales were a bit tilted in favor of the NFC. Josh Allen and the Bills looked to have everything right in front of them to get to the Super Bowl, but they couldn’t pull through. And like I said, credit to Vrabel, Maye and New England for making their way to this game. But I think it’s just a tad too early for New England to return to the top of the football world. It’ll probably happen soon enough, though.

ADAMS’ GAME PREDICTION: Seahawks 21, Patriots 16

Josh Queipo: Defense Wins Championships (This Is A Seahawks Headline)

The Seahawks defense has been downright dominant this season. They rank second in EPA/play, and their 17.2 points per game allowed is the best mark in the league. Seattle’s defensive line is considerably more talented than the offensive line New England is fielding. Headlined by Demarcus Lawrence and Leonard Williams, and seven players deep – the Seahawks defensive front will keep Patriots quarterback Drake Maye under duress all game.

Seahawks S Ty Okada and Bucs WR Chris Godwin – Photo by: USA Today

And while the Patriots have a stronger than expected receiving corps, featuring Stefon Diggs and Kayshon Boutte, the Seahawks secondary is well poised to keep them in check. With Devon Witherspoon and Riq Woolen on the outside, and the ultimate chess piece in rookie Nick Emmanwori (with a clean bill of health) working as a hybrid linebacker/safety/corner in the nickel, Seattle has the assets in the backfield to shut down the New England’s passing attack.

And I haven’t even mentioned Ernest Jones IV at linebacker, giving them playmakers at all three levels of the defense.

On offense, the Seahawks’ play action heavy attack, balanced on the shoulders of Jaxon Smith-Njigba should be able to create just enough to give Seattle some vengeance for the end zone pick in Super Bowl XLIX.

QUEIPO’S GAME PREDICTION: Seahawks 24, Patriots 20