Five bold Super Bowl LX predictions that sound far-fetched -- until you look into the data

Super Bowl LX gives the football world the gift of a somewhat fresh matchup with the AFC champion New England Patriots and the NFC champion Seattle Seahawks set to square off on Sunday.

Yes, this is a rematch of Super Bowl XLIX that concluded the 2014 season, but no one thought these iterations of the Patriots and Seahawks would be facing each other to cap off the 2025 season. Super Bowl LX is the first Super Bowl matchup since Super Bowl 1981 season in which both participants had preseason Super Bowl odds of 50-1 or longer. 

Given this matchup was anything but predictable at the start of the 2025 season, here are five, final bold predictions that seem unfathomable but could potentially come to fruition.  

Pressure breaks Drake Maye

The prediction: Maye takes playoff-record 10 sacks

Maye's 15 sacks in these playoffs rank as the second most taken by any player in a single postseason in the Super Bowl era (since 1966), per the NFL's Next Gen Stats. He's been sacked exactly five times each in all three of his AFC playoff games. 

Those playoff sacks are not all on him; his average time to throw of 3.01 seconds was the sixth-fastest among the 15 quarterbacks to start a playoff game this postseason, but his awareness when his pocket is collapsing needs to improve. 

Rookie left tackle Will Campbell, the fourth overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, has surrendered eight sacks since Week 7, the second-most in the league in that time frame including the postseason. 

This has the feel of impending doom against Seattle's No. 1 scoring defense, which just 17.2 points per game in the regular season. Seattle's defensive tackle duo of 2025 second team All-Pro Leonard Williams and 2024 first-round pick Byron Murphy III has played like the NFL's best this season: they have combined for the most quarterback pressures (108), quarterback hits (35) and sacks (14.0) among 300-pound duos, per CBS Sports Research. Then, there's Seahawks rookie hybrid safety Nick Emmanwori whose 18 quarterback pressures led all defensive backs this season. Oh, and Seattle has resurgent, five-time Pro Bowler DeMarcus Lawrence as one of their edge rushers, and he led the league with two fumble return touchdowns this season. 

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Bryan DeArdo

The Patriots may try to take pressure off of Maye and the passing game by running the football, but Seattle also led the NFL in yards per carry allowed (3.7) despite playing the lowest rate of base defense in the league at just 6%. Maye won't be able to overcome the danger the Seahawks' defense presents at all three levels on Sunday as they regularly deploy at least five defensive backs. That will force Maye to hold on to the football for way too long en route to taking an NFL playoff record 10 sacks. 

Sam Darnold has a throwback turnover

The prediction: Darnold's first turnover of the 2025 postseason a strip-sack

The following sentence is not one anyone could have predicted back in September at the start of the 2025 season: Sam Darnold has been the 2025 postseason's best quarterback. 

Darnold leads all 15 of the quarterbacks to start a playoff game this postseason in yards per pass attempt (8.9), touchdown-to-interception ratio (4-0, tied with Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love), passer rating (122.4) and turnovers (0, tied with Love and Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts). 

However, his high level play hasn't precluded him from taking sacks: his five, in two games played this postseason, are tied for the fifth-most in the league. Darnold playing turnover-free football in these playoffs is jaw-dropping considering he led the 2025 regular season with 20 turnovers, 14 off of interceptions and six off of lost fumbles. His propensity to hunt the deep ball to 2025 NFL Offensive Player of the Year wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba will catch up to him in Super Bowl LX as he'll be caught holding the ball too long, which will result in a strip sack. 

Jaxon Smith-Njigba kept quiet

The prediction: Smith-Njigba fails to break 70 receiving yards for only third time

Smith-Njigba rightfully deserved the 2025 NFL Offensive Player of the Year award accolades he took home at NFL Honors on Thursday night. He led the NFL in receiving yards (1,793), and he also averaged the most receiving yards per team pass attempt, 3.73, by any player in the Super Bowl era (since 1966), according to CBS Sports Research.

JSN's consistency was crucial in taking home the hardware: his 16 regular season games with at least 70 yards receiving were tied for the most in a single regular season in NFL. Smith-Njigba added another such game in the NFC conference championship game win over the Rams with 153 yards receiving and a touchdown on 10 catches.

However, he'll fail to break 70 receiving yards in Super Bowl LX while being shadowed by Patriots Pro Bowl cornerback Christian Gonzalez. Gonzalez allowed the second-fewest yards per pass attempt in the NFL this season, including the playoffs, with a 4.5 average. Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak will design a game plan that will lead to success without testing Gonzalez too frequently. 

Rashid Shaheed runs to history

The prediction: Shaheed scores first punt return TD in Super Bowl history

There have been 10 kickoff return touchdowns across the NFL's 59 Super Bowls, but there's never been a punt return touchdown. Seahawks Pro Bowl return man Rashid Shaheed will become the first in NFL history to take a punt back for a touchdown in the big game in Super Bowl LX. 

Shaheed is the only player who had both a kickoff and punt return touchdown in the regular season, and he's the only player with a kick or punt return touchdown this postseason. That came on a 95-yard kickoff return to open up what became a 41-6 beatdown of the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC divisional round. 

New England was one of just 12 teams to allow a punt return touchdown this season: they surrendered a 74-yard punt return score to Dolphins wide receiver Malik Washington all the way back in Week 2. Shaheed will find the holes Washington did to become the first player in Super Bowl history to take a punt back to the house. 

Opportunism crowns Kupp

The prediction: Kupp becomes first non-QB to win multiple Super Bowl MVPs

With Gonzalez and the Patriots defense hellbent on keeping the football out of Smith-Njigba's hands, Seattle's wily No. 2 receiver Cooper Kupp will capitalize to add a second Super Bowl MVP trophy to his list of accolades. That would make him the first non-quarterback in NFL history with multiple Super Bowl MVPs. 

We've already laid out the formula for that, too: Darnold committing a turnover will open the door for Kupp to catch voters' attention with two receiving touchdowns. That's how many it took him to win Super Bowl LVI MVP honors in the Rams' 23-20 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals to conclude the 2021 season. 

Kupp is tied for 11th-best Super Bowl LX MVP odds with Seahawks backup quarterback Drew Lock, linebacker Ernest Jones and edge rusher DeMarcus Lawrence at +9000, according to DraftKings Sportsbook. No matter, he'll be hoisting that trophy once again as the confetti falls for his hometown team.