Swami Sez: Chris Berman picks the winner of Super Bowl LX

After three straight Super Bowl columns in which we selected the winner And The exact margin of victory, last year, alas, we swerved and missed. Mea culpa. Please keep in mind, even Tony Gwynn and George Brett were grounded from time to time.

The 2025 season was unlike any we have seen in recent memory. Only one of the eight divisions had a repeat winner. He was the NFC East and defending Super Bowl champion. philadelphia eaglesBut by the time the postseason arrived, they advanced quickly to the wild-card round.

The AFC was completely left on its ear. perennial conference champion kansas city chiefs Again, never really reached solid levels patrick mahomes Tore his ACL and Andy Reid’s team were a rare down and out. Baltimore Ravens And lamar jackson Started 1-5 and didn’t make the playoffs, and joe burro got hurt early and cincinnati bengals There were never any factors. was the only mainstay buffalo billled by josh allenBut they lost again badly in the divisional round. Who knew that by the end of January, Sean McDermott, John Harbaugh and Mike Tomlin would no longer be coaching the Bills, Ravens and… pittsburgh steelersAnd that preseason afterthought jacksonville jaguars Will there be a division champion?

As long as you didn’t mind turning it on, NFC was a lot less fussy. Chicago Bears And carolina panthersTwo more preseason postseason thoughts on your division winner dance card. Both performed brilliantly in the playoffs. Was the second NFC preseason pick behind Philly detroit lionsWho were sidelined in January.

So, why wouldn’t we have a Super Bowl matchup between two teams that didn’t make the postseason last year?

The Patriots won four games a season ago and four games the season before that, but in Year 1 under Mike Vrabel, it’s been a completely different story. The Patriots started the season 1–2, including a loss at home las vegas raidersJoe succeeded in “corraling” the No. 1 draft pick in April. Then, soon after, they won in Buffalo and we thought, “Okay, what are they going to do with it?” Answer? The Patriots have lost one game since late September, and three playoff wins later, they are 17-3.

The Seahawks won 10 games in their first season under Mike McDonald a year earlier, but missed the playoffs. This season, the NFC West was the toughest division. The Seahawks lost close games to both in the first half of the season. san francisco 49ers And Los Angeles RamsSo the wild card appeared to be their only path to the playoffs. Since that loss to the Rams in mid-November, the Seahawks have been on their own, finishing the regular season with seven consecutive wins to earn the No. 1 seed in the NFC. Two more playoff wins took them to 16–3.

What a fresh and delicious Super Bowl we’re about to have in the Bay Area.

Hmmm… have the Patriots and Seahawks ever met in the Super Bowl? How about one of the best and most impressive Super Bowls of all time, Super Bowl XLIX 11 years ago. It ended with New England 28, Seattle 24, little-known malcolm butlerAn interception at the 1-yard line in the waning seconds sealed the deal. You could argue that that play might even top David Tyree’s catches New York Giants (In the same Arizona building, no less!) As the most impressive in Super Bowl history.

Think about the narrative that happened when Seattle won that night. The Seahawks will repeat as Super Bowl champions, the locker room will be tight and ready for history next season, with a chance to become the only team to three-peat (as we know, the Chiefs fell short last year). Whether the Seahawks won or not, they would have been the team of the decade.

Meanwhile, New England would have heard a different story, just as unfair. Belichick and the Brady group won Super Bowls in the 2001, 2003 and 2004 seasons, but a loss to Seattle would have been their third consecutive Super Bowl loss. Can they no longer win “big wins”? Instead, they were now 4-2, and won two more Super Bowls in the 2016 and 2018 seasons, and the Patriots were clearly the team of the decade… again. NFL history really took a big left-hand turn.

This Sunday, none of that has any bearing on the latest editions of the Pats and Seahawks, except that Josh McDaniels is still calling plays for New England. This is not insignificant, as this is the sixth time he will do so in the Super Bowl. Trick plays at the right time, a bunch of screens, and other guys widening the field can come in to stretch this Seattle defense that closes the gaps in a hurry.

his quarterback, drake mayPlayed a clean sweep of the AFC title game in Denver when his team needed it most. And now, in good weather, Mei can go back to focusing on perfecting his intermediate and long passes. stefon diggs And hunter henryWhich made him an MVP contender. Leading the NFL in completion percentage and yards per attempt is almost impossible, but he did it.

The Patriots’ running game is on the rise, and so is their defense, which took care of the Chargers’ three best players in the AFC in the playoffs. houston texans And denver broncos. It’s no surprise, because with his postseason knowledge as a New England linebacker, no one knows this better than head coach Mike Vrabel. tennessee titans Head coach, how important it is to get on the field in December and the playoffs.

Of course, Seattle is doing the same. Its defense allowed the fewest points in the NFL, leading the Seahawks to the best point differential (+191). Whereas the famous Legion of Boom of the previous decade was built from back to forward, Coach McDonald’s “Dark Side” defense is built the opposite. leonard williams And demarcus lawrence Headlining on the front wall and Ernest Jones IV The football in the middle acts like the Bermuda Triangle. To play defense for the Seahawks, you have to bring thunder at all three levels. In four of their last eight games, they’ve held opponents to single points… and scored just 10 and 16 points in the other two. The Rams (twice) were the only players to light up the scoreboard against them. Are the Patriots well-equipped entering the 20s?

Heading into the playoffs, questions asked of QBs Sam Darnold Was, “Are you ready?” Twice, he said “Yes!” Has responded strongly with. Seattle played a clean game and defeated both the 49ers and Rams to reach Super Bowl LX. It helps dramatically that that and Jackson Smith-Njigba They’ve been on the same page since day one, as the third-year wideout led the league with nearly 1,800 yards passing, when everyone in the stadium knows if the Seahawks are throwing for explosive gains, it’s going to go to him.

One factor that shouldn’t be overlooked: Seattle has as experienced a punter/kicker tandem as any other player in the league, while the Patriots have a rookie kicker and a third-year punter. Both teams have excellent returners.

There aren’t many Super Bowls in which both teams are preseason long shots. New England was 75-1 and Seattle was 60-1. That’s why Sunday’s showdown is so delicious. Somehow, someway, if the Seahawks have to win, they Sure Score a 1-yard rushing touchdown. This does not have to happen at the end of the game. And if they do, I think the dark side will turn out the lights late.

Seattle 26, New England 17

PS: If the owners are right, at least one record will be set. Seattle assistant coach Leslie Frazier would have the longest gap between Super Bowl rings – 40 years! He was also an assistant for the “Super Bowl Shuffle” Chicago Bears in the 1985 season and the Indianapolis Colts in the 2006 season.