By Matt Verderame On Sunday night, one team will be elated, while the other will be crushed. The Seahawks and Patriots both won 14 games in the regular season, with Seattle earning home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs while New England was the AFC's second seed. Seattle romped past the 49ers, 41–6, in the divisional round before outlasting the Rams, 31–27, in the championship game. The Patriots have put on a defensive clinic over the past three weeks, allowing only 16 total points against the Chargers, Texans and Broncos. At Levi's Stadium, the sides will clash for a second time on the sport's biggest stage, the last time in Super Bowl XLIX, when Malcolm Butler's interception of Russell Wilson sealed the Patriots' fourth Lombardi Trophy. This time around, the teams are far less experienced, with both coaches and quarterbacks making their first Super Bowl appearances (Sam Darnold was San Francisco's backup in 2023 but didn't play). Here's everything you need to know about Super Bowl LX. |
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By Greg Bishop Twelve is everywhere. All over the world. Prominent in most cultures and religions. Yes, this is about the number. Humans could hardly survive without it. Twelve is the Tom Brady of numbers, and that's not because Brady always wore those digits on his jersey. He only added to an existing reputation, which outpaces even his own. Twelve is as versatile as Seahawks safety Nick Emmanwori, as significant as New England's place in pro football history, and more central to the world than the NFL or the Super Bowl or all of major sports and all of their championships combined. Wouldn't recommend a deep dive here. Made that mistake already. The bounty of articles, analyses, psychology and variance is overwhelming. As in, to read. Twelve is an Angel Number. Twelve is a dozen. The geometry of 12 is considered sacred, even, because it maps time, space and existence. If there were a scouting combine for numbers, 12 would shine, dominate, ace not one metric but all of them. Twelve is a composite number, the smallest abundant number, a refactorable number, a Pell number, a highly composite number, the smallest of two known sublime numbers, the highest number consisting of one syllable and a Superior Highly Composite Number. In other words, 12 has functionality and heft. |
Darren Yamashita/Imagn Images |
By Conor Orr Most days during Patriots practice, Mike Vrabel will walk up and down the sideline and pass all of his players without saying a word, wearing the meanest mug he can conjure. Then, very predictably, he'll stop in front of one particular person (mostly rookie left tackle Will Campbell) and say, "Hey, back it up." Campbell, or whomever Vrabel has decided to prey on that day, has a chance to respond, resigned to the fact that actually backing up will elicit a quip about a lack of fortitude, while not backing up allows Vrabel will puff out his chest and go faux authoritarian, chiding Campbell for his insolence. This is just one of a (literal) thousand stories uttered during Super Bowl week about Vrabel's dark sense of humor, which is almost constantly on display. So too, apparently, are stories of his love, concern, chivalry, physical toughness and schematic acumen. When taken all together, it paints the picture of someone who very much deserves—and won—the NFL's Coach of the Year award. When examined deeper, it sounds like Vrabel is a man who burns his candle at both ends. Comedy is exhausting. Love, especially when it comes to an operation of more than 100 people, is absolutely exhausting. Wrestling your players, making sure everyone is polite, staying attentive during meetings and lively during practice … you get it. Talking to countless Patriots and friends outside the building, they'll insist, "That's just Mike." However, they'll also admit that he has a secret weapon that puts him a level beyond coaches around the league—a can of liquid gold so potent that it takes a certain kind of beast to harness its powers. |
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By Gilberto Manzano and Matt Verderame
The Super Bowl LX matchup between the Seahawks and Patriots wasn't expected before the season, but it's easy to see why these two teams made it this far with the amount of talent on both sides of the ball. Each squad has a starting quarterback coming off a sensational 2025 season. Patriots quarterback Drake Maye developed into an MVP candidate in his second season. It took Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold a lot longer to find his footing in the NFL, but multiple teams are now regretting his departure with how well he played in his first season in Seattle. There will be plenty of star power on display on the defensive side when these two teams kick off Sunday at Levi's Stadium. New England's Christian Gonzalez is a shutdown corner, while Seattle's Devon Witherspoon is one of the most versatile defensive backs in the league. There's also plenty to like on special teams, with reliable kickers Jason Myers and Andy Borregales. All right, enough stalling. Here's our list of Super Bowl LX's best players, from Nos. 106 to 1. |
Cary Edmondson/Imagn Images |
By Albert Breer The hay's about to be in the barn. The game's 48 hours away. Your final set of Super Bowl notes is here … Over the last week, the public found out Bill Belichick wasn't getting in the Hall of Fame, then, days later, that Robert Kraft wouldn't be enshrined this summer either. And in the aftermath, a hunt for those who declined to vote for them has unfolded. The more I've thought about it, the stronger I've felt about our transparency on these things. We ask for it with everyone we cover, and keep pursuing it when we can't get it. So as I see it, I'd be a hypocrite if I didn't offer it when I'm lucky enough to vote for these things. In the spirit of that, and with NFL Honors in the books, I wanted to roll out, for all of you, my All-Pro ballot. One reminder—this is based on the regular season alone. So anything that's happened since Jan. 4 isn't factored in. Enjoy … |
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