New England Patriots
The Patriots need an MVP-level performance from Drake Maye to solve a stout Seattle defense.
Drake Maye and Mike Vrabel are on the brink of a Super Bowl title. AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
February 8, 2026 | 7:38 AM
8 minutes to read
SAN FRANCISCO — Super Bowl LX is finally here.
New England’s improbable turnaround campaign is set to finally come to a close at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara — one way or another.
Mike Vrabel, Drake Maye, and the Patriots are set to face their toughest test of the season against a stout Seahawks team currently entering Sunday’s game as 4.5-point favorites.
But this “road warriors” Patriots team has been adept at battling through adversity all season long — and are often at their best when operating with a chip on their shoulder.
“If we win. If we win, they ain’t gonna have no choice,” Milton Williams said of the doubters.
Here’s eight things Patriots must do in order to lift the Lombardi Trophy in the Bay Area.
Win the turnover battle
Chad Finn said it best. Whichever QB leaves the field in Santa Clara with the fewest turnovers likely will also have football’s greatest prize in hand as well.
Drake Maye’s efficient and explosive command of New England’s offense has been hindered during the postseason, with the second-year QB knocked for six fumbles and two interceptions (one Hail Mary throw) over his first two games before playing a clean game against Denver in the AFC title bout.
Maye will have to toe the line between knowing when to take a sack and live to fight another day, while also not being afraid to rifle balls down the field and hit his pass-catchers in tight windows — as he’s done all season long.
It won’t be easy against a Seahawks team that swarms to the ball, has several ball-hawks layered in their defense, and ranked sixth in the league with 25 total takeaways during regular season action.
“They’re talented,” Vrabel said. “You see the defensive linemen playing the way that we would like to play and that we do play with, and they play with the technique that we talk about. You see them play with the effort that we talk about. They’re a good tackling football team. They’re not afraid to come and attack the football, and so they’ve done that really well this year.”
Sam Darnold has been money this postseason for Seattle, but he’s also prone to miscues. He was knocked for 14 interceptions and committed the second-most fumbles (six) among QBs in the league.
Whichever defense can flip the field, put their offense into advantageous starting positions, and swing momentum has a great chance of winning this one.
Dial up the pressure on Darnold
For all of the talk of Seattle’s impressive defense, New England’s defense has been putting opposing offensive lines under siege all postseason.
Be it the big bodies up front like Milton Williams and Christian Barmore or explosive edge rushers like K’Lavon Chaisson, the Patriots have dominated the line of scrimmage during this playoff run — posting 12 sacks and recording eight total turnovers over three contests.
Man, it’s good to have #Patriots DT Milton Williams back.
First sack – bull rush to power through the LG
Second sack – Swim move over the C to ice the game
The big dawgs come out in January, indeed. pic.twitter.com/Rczv3QTWgH
— Evan Lazar (@ezlazar) January 12, 2026
Even against one of the best offensive lines in the league in Denver two weeks ago, the Patriots still sacked Jarrett Stidham three times and put him under duress early and often.
If New England can cave in Seattle’s O-line on Sunday, Sam Darnold could be in for a long evening.
The Seattle QB was sharp in the NFC title game against Los Angeles while under pressure, completing 5-of-11 throws for 102 yards and three touchdowns.
But Darnold was very mortal during regular-season play when given limited time to operate.
During regular-season action, Darnold ranked just 28th among qualified passers in EPA/dropback under pressure during regular season action, throwing for six touchdowns and six picks, and sporting a sub 70.0 passer rating.
The only QBs with a worse EPA/dropback under pressure during the 2025 season were Mac Jones, Cam Ward, Aaron Rodgers, Joe Flacco and Geno Smith.
If Williams, Barmore, and Chaisson can get after Darnold and force him into ill-advised throws, turnovers could be on the way.
Try to staple Christian Gonzalez to JSN
Patriots cornerback Carlton Davis said the quiet part out loud this week when asked how New England plans on trying to slow down Seattle star receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
“We’re going to have Gonzo follow him. Obviously, he’ll motion and I’ll probably see him a couple of times,” Davis told Go Long’s Tyler Dunne.
There may not be a better 1-on-1 matchup to follow on Sunday than Patriots star corner Christian Gonzalez vs. Smith-Njigba.
Smith-Njigba is the reigning NFL Offensive Player of the Year — posting 119 catches for 1,793 yards and 10 touchdowns during regular-season play.
Gonzalez is one of the top corners in the NFL who has elevated his game for the postseason.
Per Next Gen Stats, Gonzalez faced 28 targets this postseason, giving up just 11 receptions. That 39.3 percent completion percentage allowed is the lowest by any player to face 25+ targets in a postseason since at least 2018.
Sticking Gonzalez to JSN in man coverage likely stands as the best way to try and slow down Seattle’s top offensive weapon, although the Seahawks have also drawn up several different alignments to free up a crisp route-runner like JSN, including motioning him in the slot.
But in critical third-down situations or in the red zone, expect to see plenty of 1-on-1 matchups between Gonzalez and JSN. It’s going to be a heavyweight bout between two of the best players in the league at their respective positions.
Keep Drake Maye upright
Beyond the turnover issues this postseason, Maye has been prone to taking some ill-timed sacks — sputtering out drives at critical moments.
When it comes to pressure-to-sack rate, Las Vegas’ Geno Smith led the league during the regular season at 25.9 percent. As noted by Sheil Kapadia of The Ringer, Maye’s pressure-to-sack rate in the playoffs has been a whopping 45.5 percent — with the QB sacked on over 16 percent of his total dropbacks in postseason play.
New England needs to give Maye more time to operate on Sunday, which won’t be easy against a Seattle team that has five players—DeMarcus Lawrence, Byron Murphy II, Uchenna Nwosu, Leonard Williams, and Boye Mafe— with over 40 pressure apiece this season.
As such, the onus is going to fall on New England’s O-line to play their best game of the season in order to give Maye more time to operate. The Patriots’ rookie duo of Will Campbell and Jared Wilson in particular will need to steel themselves for plenty of daunting matchups against Williams and Lawrence on the left side of the offensive line.
Don’t shy away from explosive plays
The first order of business for Maye and the Patriots offense on Sunday should be to avoid turnovers against a relentless Seattle defense.
But one of the reasons that Maye was so dangerous this season for New England was his knack for generating explosive plays — while being extremely efficient on his throws.
During regular-season play, Maye led the NFL with 112 downfield completions — including 99 completions under pressure, per Next Gen Stats.
Despite ranking third in the league in air yards per pass attempt (9.2), he still sported a league-best 72.0 percent completion on the year.
Seattle’s ability to both dial up pressure while rushing just four and a daunting five-DB formation will make it difficult for Maye to be as efficient on football’s greatest stage.
Still, the Rams did generate nine competitions of 20-plus yards against Seattle in the NFC title game, while Kapadia added that Seattle ranks 13th in EPA per pass play against downfield passes and eighth in explosive pass rate allowed.
Maye may not be completing 70-plus percent of his passes on Sunday. But there should be a few chances for him to take some shots down the field.
A lot will be made of if New England’s defense can keep its heater going and speed up Darnold. But the Patriots desperately need Maye and this offense to regain some of its elite form from regular-season play, if only for a few critical plays.
Bottle up the run to force third-and-long situations
One of the hallmarks of a Klint Kubiak offense this year has been Seattle has been a steady dose of runs on first and second down to set the stage for short-yardage situations for Darnold when it’s time to throw.
The loss of Zach Charbonnet is a loss in the ground game for Seattle, but Kenneth Walker has been one of their top weapons as of late. In two playoff games, Walker has gained 256 yards and four touchdowns while breaking six tackles.
Stopping Walker from gaining chunk yardage will be paramount for a Patriots team that is allowing just 71.3 rushing yards per games and 3.16 yards per carry this postseason.
As sharp as Darnold and the Seahawks have been this season, they’ve labored in 3rd-and-long situations. As noted by Patriots.com’s Evan Lazar, the Seahawks — when facing 3rd-and-7-plus yards — are actually 31st in the NFL in conversion rate at just 16.8 percent.
New England also boasts the best third-and-long defense in the league at 15.4 percent.
If New England can stop Walker from creating a few 3rd-and-3 and other short-yardage situations, the Patriots should have the means to stall some of Seattle’s drives.
Utilize Maye’s running ability
It remains to be seen if Maye will be able to orchestrate another sustained aerial attack on Sunday against his fourth-straight top-10 defense during this playoff run.
And make no bones about it. The Texans D might be more bombastic, but there are very few faults on this Seattle defense — a unit that ranks first in scoring defense, first in EPA, first in DVOA, and first in third-down defense. And for good measure, they rank fourth in pressure rate, fifth in red zone defense, and seventh in yards allowed.
This Seattle team doesn’t have a lot of weaknesses. But they have been susceptible at times to rushing quarterbacks.
As noted by Lazar, Seattle ranks 29th in yards per rush allowed to quarterbacks (5.0) and ranks 16th in EPA on out-of-structure drop-backs, or scrambles.
If New England’s offense falls into some ruts, don’t be surprised if Josh McDaniels dials up some designed runs or naked bootleg plays to keep Maye moving — especially on third-down or red-zone situations.
Capitalize on special teams
In a contest that could have all the makings of a true defensive rock fight, it might come down to a play or two that might decide Sunday’s game — especially in a low-scoring bout.
That could come on special teams, especially with both the Patriots (Marcus Jones) and Seahawks (Rashid Shaheed) both featuring two of the most dynamic returners in the league.
Jeremy Springer and his staff will need to avoid letting Shaheed shake loose for a major gain, while the pressure will be on rookie kicker Andy Borregales to make the most of his opportunities if New England can push the ball into Seattle territory.
Final Prediction: Patriots beat Seattle, 21-17
Conor Ryan is a staff writer covering the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox for Boston.com, a role he has held since 2023.
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