Who will win Super Bowl 60 in Santa Clara? The Sky Sports NFL team makes its predictions as the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots face off at Levi’s Stadium on Sunday.
Ndamukong Su
Seattle Seahawks 35-28 New England Patriots. We believe Seattle vs. New England will be as memorable as the previous matchups. However, the last matchup ended with a very dynamic, creative and controversial play call on Seattle’s side, so I don’t think they will experience those mistakes and situations again. They have a dominant defense and a very complementary offense, but understanding the strength of the team is running the football and situational football from the quarterback position.
Seattle won, led by Jackson Smith-Njiba and Kenneth Walker, but the Cinderella story is and will continue to be the defense led by Leonard Williams among that extremely talented group. Sam Darnold will get the recognition, but he’s not the story behind his success. The New England Patriots are exciting and will be a great team to watch in the future, but Seattle and their defense will return them to dominance this year.
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Phoebe Schechter explains everything you need to know about Super Bowl I.
Phoebe Schechter
Seattle Seahawks 27-21 New England Patriots. I think the Super Bowl will be a defensive battle. Seattle has been a very strong team all season. Their defense was great and really kept us in the game many times. It will be interesting to see how these Patriots fare against them. Because they’ve played three of the top five defenses over the past few weeks. But the weather played a huge role in that. If you watch the AFC Championship Game, it wasn’t a one-man game against the Broncos. Before that, we really struggled against the Texans. It was more the mistakes that led the Texans to success. So what I would like to see from the Patriots defense is for them to pretty much stick to their identity. They are a versatile defenseman in that they can play zone, man, and a little bit of area matchup. They like to change their image.
We need to do that against Sam Darnold, confuse him, show him something different at the line of scrimmage and force him to make those mistakes. I also think Drake Maye has to be on this Patriots team if they can take advantage of that. I’ve seen some ups and downs. His QB rating isn’t very high, and his EPA per play is among the lowest. He’s going to have to use his legs, and we’ve seen this Seahawks defense struggle at times against rushing quarterbacks. But there are only seven design QB runs against them all season, so maybe some of that is built in. And Sam Darnold, his appeal is that he throws the ball to Jackson-Smith-Nijiva, and he has to be able to stop him. And Sam has a great offensive line to protect him, so he has to be able to cover.
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Highlights from Super Bowl 49, a match between the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks in 2015.
neil reynolds
Seattle Seahawks 31-20 New England Patriots. The Patriots have done a great job of turning their fortunes around and I think this is the beginning of good times to come. Drake Maye and the offense should rise again from the snow, but they face a formidable opponent in Seattle’s defense. The Seahawks could also score points as Sam Darnold looks to write an NFL fairy tale. With the support of Jackson Smith-Njiba and Kenneth Walker, victory is in sight for the Seahawks, who are gaining momentum. Seattle 31, New England 20.
hannah wilkes
Seattle Seahawks 27-18 New England Patriots. I think it will be a great match. Two great defenses and two great offenses, but the difference for me is the fact that Seattle’s defense is so elite that it’s going to be very difficult for the Patriots to keep up with Sam Darnold and what he’s forcing the Seahawks offense to do. They won’t be able to contain Drake Maye enough that he won’t be able to match Sam Darnold and his offensive abilities. New England’s defense will be difficult, but I think Seattle is a more experienced and more complete team. I think it’s Seattle’s turn to hoist the Lombardi Trophy next.
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London-born Aden Daade reflects on his journey as he prepares to make history as the first British-born coordinator to coach in the Super Bowl, when his Seattle Seahawks play the New England Patriots.
olivia harlan decker
Seattle Seahawks 31-10 New England Patriots. If Sam Darnold can play even remotely close to his NFC Championship Game performance and handle the ball, this problem will end quickly. They showed creativity and great execution on offense against the Rams, and I think they can take advantage of the Patriots’ leaky red zone defense. And of course, defending the dark side will make life difficult for Drake May and his friends.
Jason Bell
Seattle Seahawks 25-20 New England Patriots. This is a defensive prediction. The turning point will be a turnover by one of these two defensemen and an explosive play vertically up the field by one of the quarterbacks. I’m going to run that play with Seattle on a play-action pass from Sam Darnold to Jackson Smith-Njiba.
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Best plays from Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold and wide receiver Jackson Smith-Njiba
Jeff Reinbold
Seattle Seahawks 24-17 New England Patriots. I like the Seahawks. The Patriots are a great team, but Seattle is built for it and will be tested in the NFC West with the ability to crush and win with the run game. Kenneth Walker is a hot running back with the ability to bleed yards and put opponents on the line. Jackson Smith-Njiba is on another level, and Rashid Shahid, Cooper Kupp and Jake Bobo are complementary players.
Tight end AJ Varner is very good, he’s my X-factor, and based on last week’s game, Darnold seems to be protecting the football better. New England is currently heating up, so I think it will be a close game determined by turnovers and the play of both special teams units. In the end, Seattle defensive coordinator Aden Durde would become the second British-born coach to hoist the Lombardi Trophy, joining the Rams’ Al Sanders in 1997.
Efe Obada
The scoreline has not been determined! There are a lot of important matchups in this game. We have two great head coaches. Same goes for Mike McDonald, the player who turned the Patriots around in a short period of time and put the Seahawks players in a good position. The Patriots’ D-line has been playing tremendously all season and just stepped up to the next level in the playoffs.
And then you have a Seahawks defense that is just aggressive, just violent and intentional and has a lot of stars going against one of the youngest stars at quarterback who is an MVP candidate. There’s also Jackson Smith-Njiba against Christian Gonzalez. There’s a lot to see. This is a masterpiece, these are the best teams in the league, and it’s anyone’s game. It’s going to be a very close game, so both quarterbacks have to protect the ball. You can see that it will be a very low-scoring game just because of the strength of the defense.
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Drake Maye may finally be able to fill the void left by Tom Brady for the New England Patriots – check out his best plays from the regular season!
cam hogwood
Seattle Seahawks 27-24 New England Patriots. Mike MacDonald and Aden Durde have assembled one of the stingiest and most stubborn defenses in football, and by extension, the most complete team in football this season. The Patriots have an outstanding record with a more than adequate MVP candidate in Drake Maye, but I think Seattle is just that much more sophisticated. Matthew Stafford played badly in the NFC Championship Game, but clinical Sam Darnold’s football will be the definitive cure. I think that performance perfectly demonstrated that Seattle is capable of winning in multiple ways. Simulated pressure and coverage faking will be the ultimate test of May’s on-field diagnosis, but I think it will be the pocket time and pressure that will really be decisive. Left tackle Will Campbell has struggled in the playoffs, and Maye himself has been guilty of ball security issues. The Patriots can’t afford to play anything but a squeaky clean game. I think it’s going to be tougher than a lot of people are expecting, but it’s hard to imagine Seattle falling short.
Watch the New England Patriots take on the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl 60 on Sunday, February 8th at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California. There will be live coverage on Skyspot NFL from 10pm, prior to kickoff at approximately 11:30pm.
