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The 60th Super Bowl of the National Football League (NFL) between the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks, which will be held at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, USA on the 9th, will be held under the theme of reenacting and overcoming history from 11 years ago.
Seattle and New England clashed in the 49th Super Bowl in February 2015, 11 years ago. The match, which attracted attention as a match between two outstanding quarterbacks, Tom Brady and Russell Wilson, became a close game with the winner unknown until the end of the game.
Seattle, which was trailing 24-28, had 1 yard left until the touchdown before the end of the game. However, instead of giving the ball to running back Marshawn Lynch, he chose to pass and was intercepted by New England cornerback Malcolm Butler, wasting the opportunity to win a dramatic comeback. The backlash over this play, which did not use Lynch, who was the best running back in the league at the time, was significant.
This year, 11 years later, the two teams faced each other again for the Vince Lombardi Trophy. However, Pete Carroll and coach Bill Belichick, who were leading Seattle and New England at the time, as well as Brady and Wilson, are not on the team.
The match between Seattle, which is attempting to win its second Super Bowl since 2014, and New England, which fell into a dark period after Brady left, attracts attention in many ways.
No matter what anyone says, the flower of football is the quarterback. The quarterbacks of both teams also hold the key to this Super Bowl.
Drake May. AP Yonhap News
First of all, Seattle’s quarterback Sam Darnold led the team this season with 4,200 passing yards and 35 touchdowns. He was a top prospect selected by the New York Jets with the third overall pick in the first round of the 2018 rookie draft, but failed to leave a deep impression on the Jets and Carolina Panthers. However, after coming to Seattle in the 2025 season, he immediately stood out as the league’s top quarterback. Darnold, who has strong arms that stand out among quarterbacks, also shows strengths in power and scrambling.
Against him, New England has second-year quarterback Drake May. New England, which has been unable to find an outstanding quarterback since Brady, has finally found ‘Brady’s successor’. His regular season performance this season was as good as Darnold’s, including 4,394 passing yards and 31 touchdowns. In particular, he is a typical ‘dual-threat’ type quarterback with a sturdy 193cm physique, strong shoulders, and excellent rushing. Lack of experience can be a hindrance, but if even this can be overcome, New England’s game management can become easier.
First of all, local predictions point to Seattle having the advantage due to its stronger defense. The Seattle defense blocked the opposing offense by allowing the fewest points in the league this season. It was thanks to this defense that they were able to gain an upper hand in the NFC Championship game against the LA Rams, the highest scoring team in the league this year.
Sam Darnold. AFP Yonhap News
