Super Bowl LX is official: the New England Patriots will take on the Seattle Seahawks on Feb. 8 in Santa Clara, California. This marks the second Super Bowl meeting between these franchises — their first encounter was an instant classic — and the matchup promises plenty of intrigue. The following numbers highlight some of the storylines.
0 — Since Mike McDonald became Seattle’s head coach, no quarterback younger than 24 has beaten his team. Drake Maye is 23.
1 — Seattle GM John Schneider is the first general manager in NFL history to reach multiple Super Bowls with the same franchise while fielding an entirely different roster and a different head coach.
2 — Drake Maye joins Peyton Manning (2006) as the only quarterbacks in NFL history to defeat the top three regular-season scoring defenses in a single postseason.
3 — This is the third Super Bowl featuring starting quarterbacks who were drafted in the top five of their classes, and it’s also the third Super Bowl featuring starting QBs who were taken third overall.
4 — This will be the fourth time two head coaches in their first or second year lead teams to the Super Bowl, following Super Bowls XXXVI, XXXVII and XLIII.
5 — Sam Darnold has now played for five NFL franchises, making him the first quarterback to start a Super Bowl after playing for that many teams since Chris Chandler (who had been with six teams) in 1998.
6 — This is the sixth Super Bowl in which both participating teams missed the playoffs the year before, joining Super Bowls III, XVI, XXXIV, XXXV and XXXVIII.
7 — The Patriots are chasing a seventh Super Bowl title, which would give the franchise the most championships in NFL history and break their tie with the Steelers. (Tom Brady himself already owns seven Super Bowl victories across his time with New England and Tampa Bay.)
8 — There have been eight postseason games decided by four points or fewer this year, surpassing the previous record of six set in both 2006 and 2021.
12 — This will be New England’s 12th Super Bowl appearance, extending the NFL record; the Cowboys, Steelers, 49ers and Broncos are next with eight appearances each.
17 — A win would make the Seahawks the 17th franchise to claim multiple Super Bowl titles; the Eagles were the most recent team to join that group last season.
17.2 — Through the season and into the playoffs, the Seahawks and Patriots defenses have surrendered the fewest combined points on average in the league.
20 — Sam Darnold led the league in giveaways during the regular season. The last quarterback to lead the NFL in turnovers and still play in the Super Bowl was Eli Manning, who did so in the Giants’ 2007 title run.
26 — The Patriots allowed fewer total points across their three playoff wins than any team since the 2000 Ravens, who gave up just 16 points in their first three postseason games.
35 — Drake Maye will be slightly older than Dan Marino was when Marino started his Super Bowl. Marino remains the youngest starting quarterback in Super Bowl history at 23 years, 127 days; Maye will be about 23 years, 162 days.
416 — Patriots players accumulated 416 regular-season games played in their first season with the team, the most by any Super Bowl roster in a given year. The previous mark was 327 by the 2021 Bengals.
(Stats compiled from Associated Press reporting and NFL research.)
Fan Take: This Super Bowl pits two teams with fresh identities and contrasting paths to the title game, giving fans a rare mix of youth and reinvention to watch. Beyond the trophy, this matchup could signal how quickly new front-office and coaching models can reshape contenders in the modern NFL.
