Brandon Lewis- Sports Director, Writer, Host of Brandon’s World, Co-Host of Championship Rings

In a season for the NFL that felt like it was a changing of the guard, the 60th Super Bowl ever played may be one of the least hyped games I can remember. For a season that featured the Bears, Jaguars, and Panthers making their return to the playoffs for the first time in years, a Super Bowl that features a rematch from 11 years ago between the Patriots and Seahawks feels underwhelming, even if the story for both of these teams is refreshing (somewhat).

For New England, is the Evil Empire back in modern form? After winning Super Bowl LIII against the Rams in 2018, New England took a six-year sabbatical from the NFL spotlight once Tom Brady left for the Sunshine State in 2020. Four seasons later, the team and Head Coach Bill Belichick parted ways after 23 years together.

Last season, the Patriots -- their first without Belichick at the helm since 1999 -- won a total of four games and fired Jerod Mayo just one year in. However, there was one bright spot for the Pats: Drake Maye, who was selected out of North Carolina with the No. 3 pick in the 2025 Draft.

Owner Robert Kraft decided to pair Maye up with former Patriot player and Tennessee Titans Head Coach Mike Vrabel, who also brought back Josh McDaniels for his third stint as offensive coordinator.

The Pats went out and spent money in free agency, and they invested in the skill position in the draft, and here they are, with Maye and Vrabel as potentially the modern Brady and Belichick, back in the big game.

As for Seattle, second-year Head Coach Mike Macdonald has gotten the 12th Man back to the Super Bowl for the first time since the infamous Super Bowl XLIX against the Pats. The Hawks are led by journeyman Sam Darnold, who joined the team after leading the Minnesota Vikings to 14 wins in 2024.

For Seattle, the story is about Darnold, the emergence of Jaxon Smith-Njigba as a No. 1 wide out, and Macdonald coaching up a defense that outside of DeMarcus Lawrence and Leonard Williams, doesn’t have a ton of household names.

Seattle’s offense has arguably been the best unit in football all year, led by Klint Kubiak, who after this game will be tasked to fix the Las Vegas Raiders organization, but I think New England’s defense is underrated and will be able to put together stops.

Maye has not played a great half yet this postseason and has struggled with fumbling issues, but New England’s offensive line issues have been covered up by a defense that is using Cover 0 to get after the quarterback. This game will be won in the trenches. It will be tight late. I am not predicting a Seattle blowout.

With the spread currently at SEA -4.5 for most books, I’ll take the points with the Pats, as they capture their seventh Super Bowl with a 24-21 victory, which would also mean the under in total points at 45.5 would just hit. Feb. 8, 2026, will see the rebirth of the greatest dynasty arguably in sports history.

Sean “Fitz” Fitzgerald- Writer and Host of Fitz On Sports

You know something, Brandon?

I thought I’d be the black sheep of the group to pick the Patriots, but now that I’ve had more time to digest this – I think the Seahawks get another Lombardi.

I say this knowing that Vrabel has to have some sort of ace card up his sleeve based on a hunch only. The battle of the No. 3 overall picks from the 2018 and 2024 draft classes will come down to one key component and a related issue you mentioned above: Experience.

Maye isn’t a third-year quarterback. His offensive weaponry has gelled but hasn’t had a truly ascendent talent like Smith-Njigba. Prior to Hue Jackson (come on, we know it had to be him leaking it!) giving us the Mayfield news, I thought Darnold would have been Cleveland bound.

Now, not only is he bound to be the first 2018 first-round quarterback with a Super Bowl ring, but he’ll put an infamous USC narrative to bed by becoming the first Trojan-alum to start the Super Bowl at the quarterback spot. He’s seen adversity, and Maye has only gotten a glimpse of it.

Back to Maye, aside from experience is turnovers. Macdonald will have the newest Seattle defensive unit ready to attack, and those flaws will shine bright on the big stage. 24-14, but that’ll come after a late score in the final minutes by the Seahawks to make the game appear to be uncompetitive.

Josh Ungar- Writer, Co-Host of Championship Rings

In 2015 11 years ago, the Seahawks and Patriots collided in Super Bowl XLIX at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, AZ. With just over two minutes remaining, Tom Brady found Julian Edelman for a four-yard touchdown, giving the Patriots a 28–24 lead.

Seattle still had life — and the ball — on the 1-yard line with a little more than a minute to play. Running back Marshawn Lynch, better known as “Beast Mode,” was instrumental in the Seahawks’ march down the field. Russell Wilson connected with Lynch on a 31-yard pass to move Seattle to New England’s 49-yard line. Later in the drive, Lynch powered the ball four more yards to bring the Seahawks to the Patriots’ 1-yard line.

Conventional wisdom screamed for Seattle to hand the ball back to Lynch and let him bulldoze his way into the end zone, potentially securing a second straight Super Bowl title. Instead, the Seahawks defied convention — and paid dearly. Wilson’s pass was intercepted by Patriots cornerback Malcolm Butler, sealing New England’s first championship in more than a decade.

Now, more than a decade later, the question lingers: Will the 1-yard line once again prove to be Seattle’s kryptonite when they meet New England in a rematch 11 years in the making?

While this is Vrabel’s first season as head coach of the Patriots, it’s far from his first stint leading an NFL team. Vrabel previously served as head coach of the Tennessee Titans from 2018 to 2023, compiling a 54–45 record, making three playoff appearances, and earning NFL Coach of the Year honors in 2021.

New England limped to a dismal 4–13 record in each of the past two seasons, but Vrabel has wasted no time restoring the “Evil Empire” to relevance. Many have knocked the Patriots for the unusually easy schedule they faced this season, but New England can’t control who lines up across from them. What they can control is whether they take advantage of it — and the Patriots did exactly that, restoring order in the AFC East and snapping the Buffalo Bills’ string of division titles.

What’s more, while the Brady–Belichick version of the Patriots was more often than not cast as the villain — the dynasty that dominated and exasperated fans league-wide — this Vrabel–Maye Patriot combo are genuinely likeable. Their culture shift under Vrabel, rooted in accountability, camaraderie, and personal connection, has resonated not just with Patriots Nation, but with many observers who had grown tired of the old New England stereotype.

Meanwhile, Maye has firmly put himself in the MVP conversation throughout the season, though I ultimately believe that honor will go to Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford.

Standing in his way now is the toughest defense New England has faced during its playoff run. Seattle’s unit is loaded with difference-makers, featuring the likes of DeMarcus Lawrence, Leonard Williams, and Ernest Jones IV, among others. That defensive front presents a real concern for a Patriots offensive line that has shown cracks before. Even in a convincing 32–13 win over the Cleveland Browns in Foxborough in Week 8, New England allowed Browns defensive end Myles Garrett to record five sacks on Maye by himself.

Then there’s Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold, who was selected by the New York Jets with the third overall pick in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft out of USC — a class that also featured Baker Mayfield, Josh Allen, and Lamar Jackson. After bouncing around from the Jets to the Carolina Panthers, San Francisco 49ers, Minnesota Vikings, and now Seattle, Darnold is poised to become the first quarterback from that loaded draft class to reach the Super Bowl.

Fittingly, both quarterbacks arrived in the NFL with the same draft pedigree — third overall picks — yet their journeys to this moment couldn’t be more different.

Both Maye and Darnold have thrived thanks to elite wide receiver talent — Stefon Diggs in New England and Smith-Njigba in Seattle — and it’s pushed each quarterback to within one win of a championship.

And because this is the Patriots we’re talking about, you know the game plan: Take away the opponent’s greatest strength. That likely means focusing on neutralizing Smith-Njigba, which should open things up for Cooper Kupp and Rashid Shaheed — a move I believe was the biggest trade of the NFL Trade Deadline.

The Seahawks came up one-yard short 11 years ago, but this time, it won’t come down to that because I’ve got the Seattle Seahawks capturing their second Lombardi Trophy, 34–23.

Christian Hinton - Writer and Host of The Christian Hinton Experiment

I have gone back and forth on this more than I thought I would. Before really sitting down and thinking about it, I would just instinctively predict the New England Patriots as the victors.

But, to be fair, that’s only because it’s a reflex to the past, not a reaction to reality. Sure, as my esteemed colleagues above have pointed out, the New England Patriots are one of the most storied dynasties in all of professional sports. The “House that Tom Brady Built” (or Bill Belichick, if you want to get nuts) was always a shoe-in for a deep run in the playoffs. And, so long as the Patriots weren’t playing Eli Manning and the Giants, you kind of just figured they would win.

But this isn’t 2010 anymore, and the Patriots are now led by the combination of Maye at quarterback and Vrabel at head coach. Not to discount them by any means, of course – after all, they did finish the season with 14 wins. However, this isn’t your father’s New England Patriots. Or, at least, that has yet to be seen.

Enter the Seattle Seahawks. Before the season, you probably would have at least picked them to be a playoff team… but the Super Bowl favorite? Heck no. Well, that’s exactly what happened. Just like the Patriots, they had 14 wins this year, led by none other than Darnold. Going into the 2018 draft, would you have guessed that Darnold would be the first QB in that class to make it to a Super Bowl? HECK NO. Alas, that’s exactly what happened.

All that being said, I think the Seahawks will win this game. Sure, it’s the best offense going up against a great defense, but I’m not sure it’s true that “defense wins championships.” At least, not in this modern era of NFL football. Offense is KING. And oh, by the way, Seattle’s defense is nothing to sneeze at, either. They only allowed short of 18 points per game this season, 12 points less than they averaged on offense. They also just don’t lose. Straight up. They’ve won nine straight games heading into this game. I don’t see that momentum slowing down. I have Seattle, 30-20.