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SEATTLE — Tom Brady and Drake Maye both quarterbacked the Patriots to the Super Bowl as second-year pros, so, of course, a new dynasty led by a Hall of Famer must be upon us.
If only projecting careers were as simple as drawing that parallel.
Maye is the ninth quarterback to reach the Super Bowl in his second season. Some of the other eight have built Hall of Fame résumés — like Brady, Kurt Warner, Dan Marino, Ben Roethlisberger and Russell Wilson.
Some became regulars in the Super Bowl — like Brady, Warner and Roethlisberger.
Some have realized how hard it is to get back there at all — like Marino, Colin Kaepernick and Joe Burrow. Or more than one other time — like Wilson and Brock Purdy.
Brady (seven) and Roethlisberger (two) are the only ones among the eight with multiple Super Bowl victories.
If the Patriots beat the Seahawks on Feb. 8, they will break a tie with the Steelers for most Super Bowl wins by an organization (currently six apiece) and tie Brady for the most by any single entity.
Here are some other Super Bowl 2026 storylines:
No. 1 vs. No. 2
Same as a decade ago, the Seahawks are dominant in the secondary as part of the NFL’s No. 1 scoring defense.
So let’s offer a modernized version of the “Legion of Boom” nickname to be used for Julian Love, Devon Witherspoon, Nick Emmanwori, Josh Jobe and Coby Bryant: Nothing says 2026 society like “Legion of Zoom.”
After facing the NFL’s No. 1 scoring offense in the NFC Championship game, they will draw No. 2 in the Super Bowl. The Patriots don’t have the dangerous Rams duo of Puka Nacua and Davante Adams but still ranked first in net yards per passing attempt and No. 5 in passing touchdowns with five different targets between 447 and 1,013 receiving yards.
Darnold’s redemption
Written off as a draft bust after playing for three teams in six seasons and settling in as a journeyman backup, Darnold has been a Pro Bowler in back-to-back seasons and just erased his big-game critics with a 346-yard gem in the NFC Championship game.
The Vikings look foolish for not re-signing Darnold after his 2024 breakthrough, and the Raiders look clueless for trading for Seahawks castoff Geno Smith instead of pursuing Darnold in free agency.
Sneaky Schneider
John Schneider (Seahawks) is the first general manager to return to the Super Bowl with an entirely new roster and a different head coach. He built back-to-back NFC champions (2013-14) with three straight strong drafts (2010-12), weathered the rebuild and then hit drafts out of the park again in 2022-23.
For finishing touches, Schneider executed the Smith for Darnold de facto quarterback swap and landed deep threat/return specialist Rashid Shaheed at the trade deadline.
Are the Patriots frauds?
The Patriots played the NFL’s softest regular-season schedule (.391 opponents winning percentage) and then faced playoff-bedeviled Justin Herbert’s Chargers, interception-prone C.J. Stroud’s Texans and the Bo Nix-less Broncos in the playoffs.
Can they beat a good team at close to full strength?
MVP (or two)
Cooper Kupp was Super Bowl MVP four years ago for the Rams and just got a little revenge by catching passes for a touchdown and a controversial late first down against the team that cut him last offseason. Now, he is back in the game as a Seahawks complementary weapon.
If not for Jalen Hurts, Milton Williams easily could have been last year’s Super Bowl MVP in his final game with the Eagles (four tackles, two sacks, forced fumble and fumble recovery). He signed a four-year, $104 million contract during the Patriots free agent spending spree.
One of a kind
Mike Vrabel seeks to become the first to win Super Bowls as a player and a head coach for the same franchise, the Patriots. He won three rings as a linebacker (and even caught a touchdown pass 26 years ago in The Big Game) under Bill Belichick.
Tom Flores, Mike Ditka, Tony Dungy and Doug Pederson won in both roles for different franchises, and Gary Kubiak lost three Super Bowls as a Broncos backup quarterback before winning as their head coach. Kubiak’s son, Klint, is the Seahawks offensive coordinator.
Backfields by committee?
After the Saquon Barkley one-man show of last postseason, the Seahawks and Patriots rode two of the best backfield combinations this side of Detroit into the playoffs.
But the Seahawks tandem was weakened by the season-ending injury to 12-touchdown scorer Zach Charbonnet, leaving Kenneth Walker III in a pre-free agency showcase and tag team with … George Holani.
The Patriots had a thunder-and-lightning split between Rhamondre Stevenson and TreVeyon Henderson going until the AFC Championship game, when Stevenson out-carried Henderson 25-4.
Rematch of a classic
Ever wonder what happened to Malcolm Butler, who was at the center of two Super Bowls? He made one of the great plays in history when the Patriots beat the Seahawks the first time they met in the Super Bowl, 11 years ago, and then was mysteriously benched to start one three years later.
Expect to hear from him this week as his last-minute goal-line interception of Wilson is replayed again and again. On the other hand, Dolphins quarterbacks coach Darrell Bevell — who made the call to throw it instead of run it with Marshawn Lynch — might not want to Google this name for the next two weeks.
This will be the 10th repeat Super Bowl matchup.
Unlikeliest Super Bowl
Betting on the NFL never has been more popular. And there’s never been a bigger longshot matchup.
Both the Seahawks and Patriots were considered 60-1 or greater longshots to reach this point before the season. A $1 bet on this exact matchup paid out $4,800.
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