What a wrap-up week the Conference matches were, and here we stand on the brink of another epic tilt between the (say it with me) New England Patriots, and the Seattle Seahawks. It says a lot about my team that whoever won the NFC championship game was going to be a team the Patriots have defeated in a Super Bowl. I confess I’m savoring the ability to be able to say that, because very few fans outside New England can. But hey, these aren’t the same Patriots every else loves to hate, so it’s a clean slate on which to write new painful memories for other teams (haha). Speaking of writing, Drake Maye rewrote part of the Patriots’ record book by posting a 100-plus passer rating in 14 games this season, erasing the name of one Thomas Brady who previously held the team record. Not a small accomplishment for any qb, let alone a sophomore.
Seattle outdueled a furious and determined Rams team that kept the offensive and defensive pressure cranked for all 60 minutes. We’ll get to Darnold in a bit but suffice it to say he rose to the occasion to vanquish a superb, seasoned champion in Matthew Stafford. The Patriots remained perfect on the road, suffocating Denver in their own thin air, halting backup quarterback Stidham and a potent defense in a game where Mother Nature pitched a Mile-High tantrum as the game progressed, or should I say regressed, into more of a battle against the elements than each other. I remember my heart stopping when the Patriots snapped the ball at their own snowy 4-yard line, the running back slipped and fell in snow missing the handoff, then Maye slipped and fell beside him trying to gain a yard on a broken play. The kicking game was largely quashed by weather as was the aerial attack, and even the ground game became increasingly wretched. It was a tough, ugly game, but the kind that shows character and defines ‘olde-tyme’ football. We have our champs, so let’s get on to the heavyweight bout!
OFFENSE
The Patriots have the 2nd-highest points per game, while the Squawks finished 3rd. Yards per game had New England 3rd and Seattle 7th. In Time of Possession, the Pats were 6th and Seahawks 14th. Darnold has put together back-to-back great seasons with single years on two different teams, which shows a man maturing into his potential when he was drafted 3rd overall 6 years ago. It’s not a stat, but it speaks to intangibles like character, determination and overcoming setbacks, all good signs for a man rising from the ashes multiple times over his career. He probably should have played for Phoenix, having so much in common with the mythological fire bird. The Seahawks boast the best wideout in the league in Jaxon ‘the other dart’ Smith-Njigba, flanked by the ever-crafty Cooper ‘Red Solo’ Kupp and Rashid ‘theSpeed’ Shaheed, whom they like to use on jet sweeps and occasional deep slants to keep opposing defenses off-balance. Smith-Njigba is a coverage nightmare on his own, so this should open up opportunities for the other two. The Seahawk running game is largely in the capable hands of Kenny ‘Fire’ Walker, who has provided pressure relief for Slingin’ Sammy Darnold all season.
Drake Maye turned in the highest passer rating in the league (113.5) and completion percentage (72%), only throwing 8 INTs against 31 TDs. More importantly, he calmly makes quality decisions and clutch throws when they are most-needed, including the ability to go downfield with power and accuracy. He is also highly mobile, grabbing key yardage when his pocket collapses. With his not-yet great O-line struggling with sack-happy defenses, he doesn’t lose his head or get gun-shy when the heat turns up. His 15 sacks in the last three games are due to his O-line facing three of the best defenses in the league with potent pass rushes, not him holding the ball too long. Seattle will be the fourth such sack-pack in a row, but Maye has weathered them all pretty capably. Stefon Diggs is not the player he used to be, but still crafty at finding open seams and has great hands. Kayshon ‘BigPlay’ Boutte is great in coverage and game-breaker catches, although these two wideouts aren’t the equivalent of Seattle’s top two targets. Diggs has something to prove in this game, so expect the best he has to offer on the biggest stage of his career. ‘Endzone Hunter’ Henry is reliable to make important 1st-down and touchdown catches. Rhamondre ‘Bowling Ball’ Stevenson will be extra valuable in this match-up taking pressure off Maye with his legs, and also as a capable pass catcher. His advantage is getting yards after contact, at which he excels perhaps more than any back in the league, dragging clumps of tacklers forward with inexorable determination. This matters in the second half when defenses are wearing down and you need to drain the clock by moving the sticks. It is also crucial in late innings to secure good field goal range. The New England offensive line will be the biggest question mark offensively. Advantage: Seattle.
DEFENSE
Everybody believes Seattle’s vaunted defense has the big advantage here, because of the way they abused teams all season by pinning their ears back and feasting on shrieking quarterbacks. Their secondary has turned in a solid year as well, benefitting from a myriad of panic throws due to that scorching pass rush. They’re damned good. Okay, got that out of the way. In case you hadn’t noticed, the Patriots have steadily been ratcheting up their pass rush and run-stop defensive front the last half of this season to become one of the best in the league. Match that with their Iron Dome secondary where nothing flies without permission, and the big defensive ‘advantage’ essentially vanishes. NY Jet Sam Darnold used to complain about ‘seeing ghosts’ in his backfield wearing Patriots colors, and I’m here to tell him it’s Halloween in February. Booo! K’Lavon will be Chaisson Darnold around his pocket, while Christian ‘BarTheDoor’ Barmore steams in from the other side. Any pass that escapes that hammer and anvil will immediately enter the Bermuda Triangle, where footballs disappear….or fall into the waiting hands of Christian ‘Speedy’ Gonzales, Carlton Davis or Marcus ‘Pick Six’ Jones. Seattle’s Legion of Gloom is terrific for sure, but this year’s Patriots earned their way to this game by defense as well. Advantage: even money.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Seattle has Jason ‘KicktheTires’ Myers hitting at 85% on field goals this year, with a long of 57 yards. He has booted for the highest points of his career this season, leading the league. Give him a chance, he’ll deliver the points. The aforementioned ‘Speed’ Shaheed has also been critical to their success on Special Teams, with his blazing punt and kick returns, including taking two kickoffs and two punts to the house this season. This is the top-rated Special Teams squad in the league by ESPN Analytics, a huge turnaround from last season’s disappointments. New England has Pro-Bowler Brendan ‘Private’ Schooler as the main protagonist on the squad, filling the big shoes left behind by perennial Pro-Bowler captain Matthew Slater. Marcus ‘Dow’ Jones has enjoyed aggressive ‘returns’ in 2025, with a pair of punts and a pair of picks taken to the house, making him a solid investment. He is the NFL All-Time punt return average leader. Andreas ‘Aurora’ Borregales has length (59 yards) and accuracy (84%) to keep him close to Myers, although with many fewer attempts. Let’s not forget that Seattle needed Myers to attempt 48 field goals this year as the #3 offense, while the Patriots only relied on Borregales 32 times as the #2 offense….not a stat to be overlooked when considering who puts the ball in the endzone more. Advantage: coin toss.
COACHING
Mike Vrabel is a cagey strategist who doesn’t miss anything. His signature ‘baseball umpire’s squat ‘n squint’ on the sidelines confirms that he is intently focused on the field every tick of the game clock, weighing all aspects from ref calls to opposing formations to matchups. He has been a brilliant, analytical player and coach his entire career, and a formidable opponent. Josh McDaniel is considered one of the top 3-4 offensive coordinators in the league, and Defensive Coordinator Terrell Williams had success under Vrabel in Tennessee and then developed the Lions into the best 3rd-down stoppers in the league in 2024. His work with this stifling Patriot defense speaks for itself.
Seattle’s Mike Macdonald is another of the ‘young gun’ head coaches becoming so vogue in the league these last few years, and they are a breath of fresh air, honestly. He is a Harbaugh student, having coached under Jim and John, and has a Harbaugh on his staff currently. That is a strong coaching tree. Klint ‘Eastwood’ Kubiak is Macdonald’s OC and will likely be poached off Seattle’s staff to take one of the open head coach jobs in the NFL this offseason. He is the son of Super Bowl-winning Broncos coach Gary Kubiak, and has produced improvement on every team he has coached in his 12 NFL seasons. DC Aden Durde played his football in NFL Europe, and hails from London….yes, England. In his nine years coaching he has notched his resume in Atlanta and Dallas, helping craft Micah Parsons into a future Hall of Famer.
In the heat of a close battle with two very evenly-matched teams that most Super Bowls are, victory comes down to little things. On-field execution is obviously critical, but it is the planning and preparation done before and during the game that places players in a position to make big plays or be caught unaware. It is little decisions like when to go for 4th-and-short or kick a field goal, whether to introduce a gadget play for a big surprise gain or have it sniffed out and reversed on you, when to take your timeouts and throw the challenge flag that decides these games. I challenge you to come up with three examples of game-losing calls by coaches in ten seconds – and you can do it. Pete Carroll throwing from the 3-yard line instead of running Marshawn Lynch one more time down New England’s throat, Bill Belichick refusing out of spite to play his best tackler and Super Bowl hero Malcolm Butler against Philadelphia in a Super Bowl where nobody on the Pats could seem to tackle LeGarrett Blount, or Sean McDermott allowing his kicker to kick off into the Chiefs’ endzone for a touchback during an AFC Championship game the Bills had effectively won in the last half minute, thereby allowing Patrick Mahomes 31 seconds to move the ball from his own 25-yard line to within field goal range to win the game. Had McDermott told his kicker to put the ball in play on the kickoff, Kansas City would have peeled at least 10-15 seconds off on the runback, forcing Mahomes to have to move the ball 40-50 yards in 15 seconds – practically impossible. The Chiefs went on to win the game, and the Super Bowl. I will take the more experienced coaching staff over the young hotshots in that crucible every time. Advantage: Patriots.
So here we are. Intangibles like road record, franchise history and team focus don’t really apply here, because both teams are young and new to championship football. Vrabel turned a 4-13 team a year ago into a 14-3 team in one season. Macdonald took a quarterback who melted in the playoffs last year on another team and helped galvanize him into a solid leader on a new team. The NFL website prognosticators are all leaning Seattle’s way. My first prediction for the game is that Bad Bunny will stink up the halftime show, and that between him, Green Day and the NFL’s insistence on remaining woke and out of touch with mainstream sentiments, the general flavor of the entertainment will be Left-leaning Amerihate. I think I’m on solid footing there. Second prognostication is that most of the commercials will disappoint again this year.
As for who wins the game……my gut tells me that Seattle is a year ahead of New England as a developed team. My head tells me that the Patriots are better-coached, and capable of winning this year. What troubles me is the Patriots’ trouble producing points in the last few games. They will have to score touchdowns against this defense AND rattle Sam Darnold, who doesn’t need to be great, to win this game. I just don’t see that window being big enough. In the battle with Seattle, the Pats get knocked out of the saddle.
Enjoy the game!
Nathan Clark is a conservative commentator who resides with his wife in New Hampshire. He is passionate about preserving the vision of our nation’s Founders and advancing those tried and true principles deep into America’s future. His interests range broadly from fly-fishing, cooking and shooting to pro sports, gardening, live music and fine-scale modeling.
