1 hour ago
3
An inside look at the Patriots-Seahawks Super Bowl 2026 battle in Santa Clara, Calif. on Sunday night:
Marquee matchup
Seahawks WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba vs. Patriots CB Christian Gonzalez
In training camp, this is called “good on good.’’
Gonzalez is among the handful of the best cover corners in the league, and Smith-Njigba rose to prominence this season, with 117 receptions (fourth-highest in the league), an NFL-high 1,793 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Will Gonzalez travel across the field to stick with Smith-Njigba?
He lined up on the right side 72 percent of the time this season, though when the Patriots faced the Buccaneers he did travel with Emeka Egbuka.
The Rams in the NFC title game could not slow down Smith-Njigba — 153 receiving yards and one TD. Gonzalez gives the Pats a chance to at least keep him in check, somewhat. “He can do everything,’’ Gonzalez said, “He’s amazing.’’
Four downs
Sam I am: Sam Darnold’s rise from struggling young quarterback to the Comeback Kid is remarkable, and if he completes the mission with a Super Bowl victory, more power to him.
What cannot be ignored is that he remains a turnover-prone player.
His turnover-worthy play rate of 7.2 percent was the worst among all starting quarterbacks, according to Next Gen Stats.
He threw 14 interceptions and lost six fumbles for an NFL-high 20 turnovers.
Holding onto the ball and accepting a sack is preferable than handing it over to a Patriots defense that intercepted C.J. Stroud four times in the divisional round.
“Everybody, once you get a couple hits on the quarterback and assault them in as many ways as possible, all quarterbacks are going to be frustrated with that and find a way to put themselves in the slump,’’ Patriots edge rusher K’Lavon Chaisson said.
Big play alert: The quarterbacks in this game ranked in the top five during the regular season in completion percentage, touchdown to interception ratio and yards per attempt on passes 20 or more yards downfield.
Darnold and Drake Maye can both fling it. But they will be going against two of the best defenses, in terms of preventing deep passes from reaching the end zone.
The Seahawks allowed just one touchdown, and the Patriots gave up just two touchdowns on passes 20 or more yards downfield. Which of these trends wins out?
Hard to defend: The most dominant unit in this game is the Seattle defense, which allowed the fewest points in the NFL this season, helped along by two former Giants, Leonard Williams and Julian Love.
“I would say this is the most complete defense and the most complete team I’ve been a part of,’’ Williams said. “Our defense is not just good on all three levels, we have depth on all three levels.’’
One caveat: The Seahawks are not always great in the tackling department. They missed 162 tackles this season — 12th-most of any defense, according to Pro Football Focus, with 102 of those misses coming against the pass.
Maye day: When all else fails, run. That is not exactly the Patriots Way, but if it works, why not?
Maye in the AFC Championship game came up with a fake-handoff bootleg run on third-and-5 to pick up a first down and deal the deal in a 10-7 victory over the Broncos.
He led the league in scrambles for first downs (27) and was third in total scramble yards (432) in the regular season. He’s run it nearly seven times a game since Week 15.
If the mighty Seahawks defense has a weakness, it is containing opposing quarterbacks, who averaged 5.3 rushing yards per game, fourth-most in the league.
Paul’s pick: Seahawks 23, Patriots 19
English (US)