Patriots, Seahawks set for Super Bowl LX rematch after dramatic conference wins

A rematch nearly a decade in the making

The snow in Denver fell so hard that stadium crews kept repainting the hash marks. Three time zones away, rain slicked the turf in Seattle as passes cut through the night air. By Sunday evening—after one game that looked like a throwback and another that felt like a track meet—the NFL had the matchup it did not know it was waiting for: New England Patriots vs. Seattle Seahawks, again, for the championship of football.

On Feb. 8 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, the Patriots and Seahawks will meet in Super Bowl LX, a rematch of the 2015 classic that ended with cornerback Malcolm Butler’s goal-line interception and nearly a decade of debate. This time there is no Tom Brady or Russell Wilson in sight, no Bill Belichick across from Pete Carroll. Instead, a rebuilt New England led by 23-year-old Drake Maye and first-year coach Mike Vrabel will face Sam Darnold’s revival and Mike Macdonald’s “Dark Side” defense in a meeting of franchises still defined, in different ways, by that night in Glendale.

Both punched their tickets Sunday in strikingly different fashion.

Patriots survive Denver in a 10–7 snow game

In the AFC Championship Game at Empower Field at Mile High, the Patriots leaned on defense, field position and a mobile young quarterback to grind out a 10-7 win over the Denver Broncos in heavy snow and single-digit wind chills by the fourth quarter.

Denver, already without rookie starter Bo Nix after the quarterback broke his ankle in the divisional round, briefly appeared ready to extend its improbable season with backup Jarrett Stidham. On the Broncos’ first possession, Stidham launched a 52-yard completion to Marvin Mims Jr., then found Courtland Sutton for a 6-yard touchdown and a 7-0 lead that ignited the home crowd.

The game swung on a pair of aggressive decisions and a series of defensive stands.

Early in the second quarter, leading 7-0, Denver faced fourth-and-1 at the New England 14-yard line. Head coach Sean Payton opted against a short field goal and called a naked bootleg. Stidham was stopped for no gain, and the Broncos turned the ball over on downs. The decision was questioned immediately and again after the game.

“We were trying to stay aggressive,” Payton told reporters. “Looking back, you can certainly argue for taking the points there.”

On the next series, an overloaded blitz by New England forced Stidham into a backward pass that was ruled a live ball. The Patriots recovered at the Denver 12 and, two plays later, Maye kept the ball on a 6-yard run to tie the score.

From there, the conditions worsened and the Patriots’ defense took over.

New England opened the second half with a 16-play, roughly 9½-minute march that ended in a short field goal to give the Patriots a 10-7 lead they never surrendered. In a game where footing and visibility deteriorated, that single drive—and the Patriots’ ability to avoid their own mistakes—proved decisive.

Broncos kicker Wil Lutz missed two long field goals, including a 54-yarder before halftime, and had a 45-yard attempt blocked by defensive tackle Leonard Taylor III late in the fourth quarter that would have tied the game. Lutz later said the snow made it difficult to see yard lines and suggested the spot “might have been a yard off,” feeding the frustration of Denver fans.

New England’s defense, which has now allowed just 26 points in three postseason games, forced two turnovers and did not yield a point after the first quarter. Cornerback Christian Gonzalez, beaten on the early deep ball to Mims, intercepted Stidham with just over two minutes remaining to stifle the Broncos’ final drive.

The last significant play belonged to Maye. Facing third-and-5 at his own 41 with less than two minutes left, the second-year quarterback audibled at the line of scrimmage and kept the ball on a bootleg, gaining seven yards and the first down that allowed the Patriots to kneel out the clock.

“I’m just proud of this team,” Maye said. “We’ve won games a lot of different ways this year, but today was about finding a way in the cold and trusting our defense.”

The win sends New England to its 12th Super Bowl, extending its own record and giving the franchise its 40th postseason victory. It also caps a dramatic turnaround. Two seasons ago, the Patriots finished 4-13. Under Vrabel, a former New England linebacker and three-time Super Bowl champion, and with Maye delivering more than 4,300 passing yards and 31 touchdowns during the regular season, they went 14-3 and tied the league mark for biggest one-year improvement.

Vrabel, who has emphasized structure as much as celebration, offered a glimpse of his approach inside the locker room. In a video circulated by the team, he told players they could enjoy the night but added, “If you’re not on the bus by 8 a.m., you’re not playing in the Super Bowl.”

Seahawks outlast Rams, 31–27, in a passing-heavy thriller

In the NFC, the path looked far different.

At Lumen Field in Seattle, the Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams combined for 58 points and nearly 800 passing yards in a 31-27 Seattle victory that was not decided until a final heave came up short as time expired.

Darnold, on his fifth NFL team and playing through an oblique injury that had limited him in practice for two weeks, completed 25 of 36 passes for 346 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions. He found second-year receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba 10 times for 153 yards and a score, repeatedly exploiting soft spots in the Rams’ coverage.

“It’s been a long road to get here,” Darnold said. “You dream about these moments when you’re a kid, and it hasn’t always gone the way I wanted in this league. To do it with this group, in this stadium, is pretty special.”

The Rams, who split two razor-thin regular-season meetings with the Seahawks, answered behind veteran quarterback Matthew Stafford. Stafford threw for 374 yards and three touchdowns, often targeting Puka Nacua, who finished with 165 receiving yards and a score, and Davante Adams, who added 89 yards and a touchdown in yet another conference title loss.

The game’s hinge points came on mistakes and risk.

With Seattle ahead 17-13 in the third quarter, Rams returner Xavier Smith muffed a punt deep in Los Angeles territory. The Seahawks recovered, and on the next snap Darnold hit Jake Bobo for a 17-yard touchdown that stretched the lead to 24-13. Coaches and players on both sides called the sequence the biggest swing of the night.

Later, with Seattle up 31-20, cornerback Riq Woolen broke up a third-down pass to Nacua that appeared to force the Rams to settle for a field goal. As the Seahawks celebrated, Woolen was flagged for taunting. On the next play, Stafford found Nacua for a 34-yard touchdown, cutting the deficit to four and tightening the stadium’s nerves.

The defining moment for Seattle’s defense—self-branded as the “Dark Side”—came in the red zone. With 4:59 left and the Rams trailing 31-27, Los Angeles faced fourth-and-4 at the Seahawks 6. Head coach Sean McVay chose to go for the go-ahead touchdown rather than attempt a short field goal.

Stafford targeted the end zone, but cornerback Devon Witherspoon broke up the pass, preserving the lead. The Rams would not get closer than their own 7-yard line in the final seconds.

“Our defense made the play when it had to,” Macdonald said. “That’s what this group has been about all year.”

The victory sends Seattle to its fourth Super Bowl and its first since the 2014 season, when the Seahawks lost to New England in Super Bowl XLIX.

What’s changed since Super Bowl XLIX—and what hasn’t

That game ended when Butler stepped in front of Ricardo Lockette at the 1-yard line after the Seahawks opted to throw rather than hand the ball to running back Marshawn Lynch.

That decision has shadowed Seattle for years and helped fuel another New England championship run. The Patriots eventually won two more Super Bowls in the Brady-Belichick era. The Seahawks, despite reaching the playoffs multiple times, never returned to the NFC title game with Wilson and Carroll.

Nearly every principal from that night is gone. Yet as soon as Sunday’s results became final, references to XLIX resurfaced across both fan bases and national coverage.

This rematch will unfold with entirely different personnel. The Patriots’ offense is built around Maye, Pro Bowl receiver Stefon Diggs—whose on-field celebration with partner Cardi B went viral Sunday—and a revamped line. Their defense, anchored by young players such as Gonzalez and defensive tackle Christian Barmore, has carried them through a postseason in which they have allowed fewer than nine points per game.

Seattle’s identity starts with Macdonald’s scheme and a defense headlined by Witherspoon and Woolen. But it has been Darnold’s efficiency and the emergence of Smith-Njigba, along with running back Kenneth Walker III and midseason acquisition Rashid Shaheed, that have pushed the Seahawks to a 16-3 overall record. Advanced metrics have rated this team among the most efficient in recent history.

Stakes beyond a trophy

For New England, a victory would validate its rapid rebuild and add a seventh Lombardi Trophy to the franchise’s collection, all while easing questions about how much its success this season was aided by an injury-weakened schedule and backup quarterbacks. A loss would prolong those doubts and make Super Bowl LX feel like a first step, not a finished job, for Maye and Vrabel.

For Seattle, a win would represent a measure of closure—a championship over the same franchise that authored its most painful defeat, this time with the Seahawks making the crucial goal-line stop instead of watching it happen to them. A loss to New England in another one-possession game would ensure that comparisons to XLIX linger for another generation.

The game will also reflect the league’s evolving stagecraft. The NFL plans a 60th-anniversary pregame ceremony featuring Green Day and past Super Bowl most valuable players, national performances by Charlie Puth, Brandi Carlile and Coco Jones, and a halftime show headlined by Bad Bunny, the league’s first solo Spanish-language star in that role.

Oddsmakers opened Seattle as a modest favorite, reflecting both the Seahawks’ statistical profile and skepticism about the Patriots’ path. The only certainty, based on the recent history between these franchises, is that the outcome may again hinge on a single snap near the goal line.

On Sunday, the lines in Denver disappeared under snow and the final pass in Seattle fell to the turf as time ran out. In two weeks in Santa Clara, with the nation watching, another season—and a lingering argument from nine years ago—will be settled in clearer conditions, but with just as little margin for error.