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Archives for January 25, 2026

Seattle Opens as Super Bowl LX Fave

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SANTA CLARA – (Wire Service Report) – Nearly 11 years ago, the New England Patriots defeated the Seattle Seahawks by four points to win the Super Bowl. Oddsmakers are looking for a similarly close game this time around, too, except with Seattle making the plays to come out on top.

Hours after the Patriots and then the Seahawks booked their reservations for Super Bowl LX on Sunday, sportsbooks listed Seattle as the early favorite, putting the line in the 4-to-5-point range.

Both DraftKings and FanDuel listed the Seahawks as 4.5-point favorites, with BetMGM putting the number at 5.

The Super Bowl will be played in Santa Clara, Calif., on Feb. 8.

Both teams finished the regular season with 14-3 records, tied with the Denver Broncos for the best record in the league. The Broncos got the No. 1 seed and first-round bye by way of a tiebreaker, but the Patriots beat the Broncos in Sunday’s AFC Championship Game 10-7, the game in Denver ending in snow flurries.

In the day’s second game, the Seahawks held off their NFC West-rival Los Angeles Rams, winning 31-27 in the third meeting between the teams this season.

Though the Patriots played in the lower-scoring of the two games, oddsmakers are looking for a score in the Super Bowl more along the lines of the Seahawks-Rams game, with the over/under sitting at 46.5 across most books. The Patriots were the NFL’s second-highest scoring team at 28.8 points per game, with the Seahawks right behind at 28.4.

Seattle had the stingiest defense in the league in 2025, allowing 17.2 points per game. The Patriots were fourth at 18.8.

According to teamrankings.com, the Seahawks and Patriots are the best teams against the spread (record when factoring in the point spread) this season, including playoffs.

Seattle is 14-5-0 against the spread (ATS), while New England is 13-6-1.

While a slew of specialty bets will be posted over the next two weeks, an early look at one of the most popular prop bets, Super Bowl Most Valuable Player, is topped with the expected names.

As quarterback of the betting favorite, Seattle’s Sam Darnold is the betting favorite with odds in the plus-130 range (bet $100 to win $130), with New England QB Drake Maye second at around plus-235. The only other players with odds shorter than plus-1000 (or 10-to-1) are a pair of Seahawks — receiver Jaxson Smith-Njigba (plus-500) and running back Kenneth Walker III (plus-700). Up next is Patriots running back Rhamondre Stephenson, but he is listed between plus-2500 and plus-3000.

This will be the second Super Bowl meeting between the Seahawks and the Patriots. New England beat defending champion Seattle in Super Bowl XLIX (49) on Feb. 1, 2015 when Patriots defensive back Malcolm Butler intercepted Russell Wilson at the goal line with 20 seconds left in the game to seal the 28-24 win in Glendale, Ariz.

–Field Level Media

Seahawks Hold Off Rams for Super Win

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SEATTLE – (Wire Service Report) – Seattle quarterback Sam Darnold threw for a season-high 346 yards and three touchdowns as top-seeded Seattle defeated the visiting Los Angeles Rams 31-27 Sunday in the NFC Championship Game.

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Wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba made 10 receptions for 153 yards and a touchdown and Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker III became Kenneth Walker LX by rushed for 62 yards and a score for the Seahawks, who will meet the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LX on Feb. 8 in Santa Clara, California.

Darnold, on his fifth team in eight NFL seasons, finished 25-of-36 passing to reach his first Super Bowl.

The Rams got the ball on their own 8-yard line with no timeouts and 25 seconds remaining but time expired as they reached midfield.

Matthew Stafford was 22 of 35 for 374 yards and three TDs for the fifth-seeded Rams. Puka Nacua made nine catches for 165 yards and a score. Davante Adams added 89 yards and a TD on four receptions.

Trailing by four points, the Rams had a fourth-and-4 from Seattle’s 6-yard with 4:54 remaining. Stafford’s pass intended for Terrance Ferguson in the back of the end zone was knocked down by Devon Witherspoon.

The Seahawks were held on the first possession of the second half, but Rams punt returner Xavier Smith tripped and fell backward as the ball approached. Smith tried to catch the ball just before he landed on his back but muffed the punt and Seattle’s Dareke Young recovered at Los Angeles’ 17-yard line.

On the next play, Darnold hit Jake Bobo in the back of the end zone for a 24-13 lead. It was just the fourth reception of the season for Bobo.

The Rams responded with a four-play, 75-yard drive, capped by Stafford’s 2-yard TD pass to Adams to pull within four points.

Seattle moved right back down the field, restoring their double-digit lead on a 13-yard touchdown reception by former Ram WR Cooper Kupp.

It appeared the Rams would have to punt from Seattle’s 49-yard line when Riq Woolen knocked down a pass to Nacua to force the Rams into fourth-and-12. But Woolen was called for taunting after the play, giving Los Angeles the ball at the 34. Stafford threw a strike to Nacua, beating Woolen at the front left pylon, to pull the Rams within 31-27 with 2:06 left in the third.

The Seahawks took a 17-13 lead at intermission as Darnold hit a wide-open Smith-Njigba with a 14-yard scoring strike with 20 seconds left. The six-play, 74-yard drive took just 34 seconds after the Rams were held to a three-and-out when they had a chance to run out the clock with the lead.

The Seahawks’ defense also forced a three-and-out on the game’s opening possession. Seattle took advantage with a seven-play, 81-yard touchdown drive, capped by Walker’s 2-yard run around the right end and dive for the pylon.

The teams then traded field goals on the next three possessions, with the Rams’ Harrison Mevis connecting from 44 and 50 yards and Seattle’s Jason Myers from 27.

The Rams took a 13-10 lead on a 9-yard screen pass from Stafford to Kyren Williams with 1:55 left in the half.

–Field Level Media

It’s ON to SANTA CLARA

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DENVER – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – New England survived a blizzard and second-year quarterback Drake Maye made enough plays with his feet to send the Patriots back to the Super Bowl with a 10-7 win over the Denver Broncos in the AFC Championship Game on Sunday.

Maye ran for a seven-yard gain on third down with less than two minutes to play, setting off a snow globe celebration to send the Patriots to Super Bowl LX in Santa Clara, California.

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New England is the first team ever to finish a season 9-0 on the road. The Patriots were 8-0 in road games in the regular season under first-year coach Mike Vrabel, who goes to Santa Clara with a chance become the first ever to win a Super Bowl as a player and coach with the same franchise.

Patriots cornerback Christian Gonzalez intercepted a floating Jarrett Stidham pass on an attempted vertical shot to Marvin Mims with 2:11 on the clock as Denver sputtered to move the ball in heavy snow throughout the second half.

Stidham, thrust into the AFC Championship due to a season-ending ankle injury to Bo Nix, started the first playoff game of his career and the Broncos scored first, but generated only 181 yards of total offense. The Patriots sacked him three times. Stidham lost a fumble and was intercepted.

Maye rushed for 65 yards and a touchdown and went 10 of 21 passing for 86 yards and was sacked five times.

With 10 minutes left in the game, the Broncos picked up their initial first down of the second half. Denver ran only five plays in the third quarter.

Punter Jeremy Crawshaw gave the offense an assist with field position, pinning New England at its own eight with 8:10 remaining. A three-and-out by the Patriots brought the Broncos’ offense back on the field after a short punt to begin a drive at the New England 33. Stidham scrambled on third down to set up a 46-yard field goal, but Leonard Taylor — activated from the practice squad on Saturday night — partially blocked the Wil Lutz attempt to preserve a three-point Patriots lead.

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Starting at halftime, flurries intensified and turned the field into a winter storm scene in the third quarter. Opening the second half with a drive of nearly 10 minutes, the Patriots marched inside Denver’s 10 with a fourth-down conversion but mustered only a 23-yard field goal to nose in front 10-7. Patriots rookie Andy Borregales missed kicks at the end of the half and, through driving snow, in the third quarter as well.

The Patriots trailed 7-0, but rattled Stidham into handing the ball back to New England. Maye tied the game 7-all with 2:10 remaining before half. He beat the two-minute warning with a six-yard completion then tied the game with a 6-yard run, following center Garrett Bradbury on a designed draw.

The romp came seconds after New England scooped Stidham’s backward pass, eventually correctly ruled a fumble but first called intentional grounding and an incomplete pass, at Denver’s 12.

The Patriots appeared to tie the game on the defensive score, but officials ruled the ball down at the spot of the recovery where Elijah Ponder picked it up for New England. The odd play was doomed from the beginning. Stidham backpedaled from pressure nearly 20 yards before he panicked and tried to throw the pass out of bounds and pushed the ball to his left with both hands. Patriots linebacker Christian Elliss was credited with a forced fumble. The line judge stopped the play with an intentional grounding call before on-field discussion by the crew.

Denver bypassed a 32-yard field goal try and a possible 10-0 lead to attempt a fourth-down pass, which was incomplete at the 9:22 mark in the second quarter.

Lutz missed a 54-yard try wide right to give the Patriots time to set up a Borregales 63-yard attempt that knuckled left and well short. Borregales banged a 61-yarder in pregame warmups.

Sutton snagged a 6-yard touchdown in the first quarter to open the scoring. Stidham faked a handoff and rolled to his right away from the defense, hitting Sutton in stride in the back right corner of the endzone and a 7-0 lead. That score was set up by a Stidham 52-yard completion to Mims.

–Field Level Media