Super Bowl 2026: Can Patriots offense get back on track or will Seahawks defense shine?

Super Bowl LX is finally here, as the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks will do battle on Sunday for the right to hoist the Lombardy Trophy and declare themselves champions of the 2025 season. 

New England is back in the Super Bowl for the first time since the 2018 season, back when Tom Brady was at the helm. The Patriots advanced through the AFC playoffs thanks to consecutive victories over the Los Angeles Chargers, Houston Texans and Denver Broncos. They won a snowy, mistake-filled AFC title game in Denver two weeks ago, claiming the conference championship over a Broncos team that was starting its backup quarterback in Jarrett Stidham but that nonetheless stayed in the game throughout.

Seattle is back on this stage for the first time since making the Super Bowl in back-to-back years in 2013 and 2014. The Seahawks earned a first-round bye in the playoffs thanks to claiming the No. 1 seed in the NFC and then defeated the division rival San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams in consecutive weeks to claim the conference championship. The title game itself was a rollicking, back-and-forth affair wherein Sam Darnold slayed some demons and took down the Rams with a three-touchdown performance.

This game itself is a rematch of the Super Bowl over a decade ago where the Pats defeated the Seahawks thanks to Malcolm Butler's miraculous goal-line interception that stopped the Seahawks from claiming back-to-back Super Bowls. 

Which of these two teams will emerge victorious this time around? We'll find out soon enough. But in the meantime, here's a look at how you can actually watch the game.

Where to watch Super Bowl LX live

Date: Sunday, Feb. 8 | Time: 6:30 p.m. ET
Location: Levi's Stadium (Santa Clara, California)
TV: NBC, stream live on Peacock
Follow: CBS Sports App

Key storylines and matchups

• Drake Maye's shoulder. Maye injured his shoulder during the AFC title game against the Denver Broncos. He said during Super Bowl Opening Night that he felt the injury turned a corner over the weekend and he felt good. He has been a full participant in practices and will play in the game, but it's still worth watching on Sunday.
• Sam Darnold's oblique. Darnold was limited in Wednesday's practice due to his recent oblique injury. He was also limited throughout the week leading up to the NFC title game, though, and then he went out and had one of the best games of his entire career. There is no question that he'll play on Sunday.
• Nick Emmanwori's ankle. Emmanwori injured his ankle in Wednesday's practice, according to head coach Mike Macdonald. If it affects him at all or even keeps him out of the game, it is an absolutely massive story. He is one of the keys to making Macdonald's defense work because of his size and ability to play both the run and the pass from the slot and as a hybrid safety-linebacker type. Macdonald said he expects Emmanwori to play, thankfully, but we'll have to watch his status leading up to Sunday's game.
• Milton Williams' effect on the Patriots defense. Williams has been a monster since signing his mega free-agent deal last offseason. And New England's defense is a different animal when he is on the field than when he is off it. According to ESPN, the Pats rank sixth in pass-rush win rate with Williams on the field and 26th with him off. According to Tru Media, they allow an additional half-yard per carry before contact with Williams on the sideline than when he is in the game. Since he returned from his injury, the Patriots have been defending at an extremely high level, and they'll need that to continue here.
• The challenge of Jaxon Smith-Njigba. JSN had one of the best wide receiver seasons in recent memory, catching 119 passes for 1,793 yards and 10 touchdowns. He averaged 3.68 yards per route run, per Tru Media, the third-best mark of any player in the last 10 years. The Patriots have a top cover corner in Christian Gonzalez, but it'll be interesting to see if he shadows JSN all over the field or if they try to bracket him with two defenders and use Gonzalez to take away Rashid Shaheed and/or Cooper Kupp instead. 
• New England's weaponry. The Patriots have cobbled together a pass-catching corps throughout this season, not using any specific reason or tight end on a significant majority of snaps. Stefon Diggs has emerged as the top target for Maye in the passing game but guys like Kayshon Boutte, Demario Douglas, Hunter Henry and more have played their roles. How and whether they are able to find their way against the Seattle secondary will play a big role here. The same guys for how Rhamondre Stevenson and/or TreVeyon Henderson can find any rushing lanes against the ferocious Seattle run defense. 
• Kenneth Walker, feature back. Zach Charbonnet remains out after tearing his knee during the Divisional Round win over the San Francisco 49ers. Walker has played 62% and 63% of the snaps in the two games with Charbonnet out after playing 47% of the snaps during the regular season. George Holani will still work into the mix but it should be expected that Walker gets the significant majority of the touches here.
• Zone defense battle. Seattle played zone at the league's third-highest rate, forcing opponents into -0.10 EPA per dropback on those snaps, per Tru Media. Meanwhile, Maye was arguably the best quarterback in the league against zone this season, checking in first in EPA per dropback on those snaps. Which team wins the battle in that area will go a long way toward determining who wins the game itself.

Prediction

Seattle's defense is just too good. New England has already struggled offensively through its first three playoff games, failing to produce representative performances against the Chargers, Texans or Broncos. Now, the Patriots face what may be their toughest test yet in this Seahawks group. They can generate pressure and are sticky on the back end. They typically don't allow the type of big plays the Patriots' passing offense relied on during the regular season before it backslid in the playoffs.

The Pats will have to run the ball well and probably dink and dunk their way down the field, and I'm not sure they can do it well enough to put up a ton of points. Strangely, I might trust Seattle's offense more than New England's at the moment, given the way Sam Darnold, Jaxon Smith-Njigba and even Kenneth Walker III are playing. If the Seahawks can stay in a neutral or positive game script and avoid a pure dropback game for an extended stretch, I like them to come away with the win.

Prediction: Seahawks 23, Patriots 16