NFL Football BETTING PREVIEW - Seattle Seahawks @ New England Patriots

NFL Football

2026-02-08 - Seattle Seahawks at New England Patriots

A Sports Betting Preview by FirstDown

New England Patriots vs Seattle Seahawks
United States : NFL Super Bowl LX
Sunday 8th February 2026 - Scheduled 6:30pm
11:30pm (British Time)

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Preview

The AFC Champion New England Patriots (17-3) meet the NFC Champion Seattle Seahawks (16-3) in the Super Bowl, which is the repeat of Super Bowl XLIX played in February 2015. That was a game one by the Patriots, but all Seattle fans will still remember the decision to throw the ball rather than handing it to Marshawn Lynch and seeing that pass Intercepted to prevent the Seahawks from repeating as Champions.

The Seahawks have not been back to the Big Game since then, while the New England Patriots won a couple more Super Bowls with Tom Brady at Quarter Back. The future Hall of Famer has also led the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a Super Bowl success, but the New England Patriots had been struggling to find a Brady replacement until this season.

Drake Maye is not the most experienced, but the Quarter Back has been a key part of the turnaround for the Patriots who had won just eight games in the previous two seasons before this stunning 2025 season. Head Coach Mike Vrabel deserves a lot of credit for influencing this roster too, but New England will be the underdog when they face Seattle.

They deserve credit for getting past the Los Angeles Chargers, Houston Texans and Denver Broncos, but it also should be stated that this has not exactly been a 'murderer's row' of opponents. The Chargers and Texans had glaring issues, which were exposed by the Patriots, while the Denver Broncos had to play with a backup Quarter Back and that did make a difference in a close game.

Much of the credit has to be given to the Patriots Defensive unit.

They have really stepped up and will need to be at their best against the Seattle Seahawks who got the better of two Divisional rivals San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams and who have definitely earned their place in the Super Bowl by taking on a much tougher schedule than the one New England have had to play.

All of that won't matter on Sunday in the Super Bowl when it is all about executing properly on the day.

While the Seattle Offensive unit have put up better numbers than the Patriots, the Defensive unit is the stronger for the Seahawks as it is for the AFC Champion.

With that said, it is going to be a game that feels like it is going to be decided by which of the two Defensive units is able to impose themselves the best.

The Line of Scrimmage is going to be really important when the Seahawks have the ball- they will want to keep Quarter Back Sam Darnold in third and manageable spots as much as possible and try and keep the pressure from someone who has had a history of struggling in big spots. Over the last month, Sam Darnold has not really had those moments, but there is always a concern about the Quarter Back until he proves there should not be and so the game plan will still involve seeing a lot of Kenneth Walker III.

He is going to be running behind a very good Seattle Offensive Line, but the Patriots have really had a good Playoff clamping down up front and this is going to be a key battleground. You have to feel the Patriots 'must' stop the run and try and see if they can put Sam Darnold in a position where he feels he has to win the game for Seattle, which can lead to mistakes, while the Seahawks missed Zach Charbonnet and his ability to not only pound the rock, but to be that safety blanket for the Quarter Back.

Throwing against this Secondary is going to be a big challenge for Sam Darnold- his favourite Receiver is likely going to be blanketed by New England's best Defensive Back, Christian Gonzalez, and Jaxson Smith-Njigba will be fighting for room, but that will mean focusing on the experience of Cooper Kuup and hoping that Rashid Shaheed can also take the top off the Secondary.

Seattle may ultimately decide that they don't want to make too many mistakes and play the field position and so running the ball is going to be key.

You can say the same on the other side of the ball.

While the Patriots Defensive Line have stepped up the level in the post-season, the Seattle Defensive Line has been one of the best at stopping the run through the campaign.

The Seahawks did have some trouble stopping the Los Angeles Rams running the ball, but that might have something to do with Matt Stafford at Quarter Back and the familiarity the teams had with one another. This time the Seattle game plan may be to ask Drake Maye to beat them with his arm, especially as he is playing behind an Offensive Line that have been much better at run blocking than pass protection.

New England will not shy away from what they want to do and will be happy to play the field position if they have to and that means they will continue to pound the rock for as long and as often as is needed.

Third and long spots will definitely favour the Seahawks who have a decent pass rush and who will certainly have seen the issues New England have had in giving Drake Maye time to throw down the field. Those issues have been compounded by the fact that Maye has struggled to hold onto the ball when he is being Sacked and it is those turnovers that could become a huge factor in the final outcome of the Super Bowl.

Drake Maye will make some plays- he can throw the ball to some experienced Receivers, while he showed he is willing to tuck the ball and run for First Downs when needed. That will help the New England Patriots, but it does feel like the Super Bowl could come down to which of the two Quarter Backs makes the fewest mistakes.

There is also a feeling that the Seattle Defensive unit is the superior of the two that will be on the field on Sunday and that is where the difference could be made with the likelihood that they can win the turnover battle.

The underdog has covered in each of the last five Super Bowls played, while four of those have ended with the underdog earning an outright win.

Everything is pointing to a low scoring game, which is not uncommon in recent Super Bowl games played, and that does make the spread a little more awkward. Having this many points gives the underdog a chance for a backdoor cover in the worst case, but there is an underlying feeling that the Seahawks are much more battle-hardened and have an Offensive unit capable of making one or two more plays than the Patriots.

Keeping stakes relatively low looks to be the best approach with a game that could come down to one or two plays, but the edge before kickoff is with the NFC Champion to win the Super Bowl for a second year in a row and with another cover in a winning effort.

Props

It wouldn't be the Super Bowl without a huge amount of Prop Markets being released.

However, this has become a much more popular betting approach in US Sports over the last couple of years, whether that is in the Major League Baseball, NBA Basketball or NFL/College Football.

A couple of angles that could be worth considering:

Rhamondre Stevenson has become the lead Running Back for New England and he dominated the carries in the AFC Championship Game- he can reach at least 50 yards even against this tough Seattle Defense with the expectation that the Patriots will continue to bite down and try and pound the rock for as long as the scoreboard allows them.

The Rams showed the Patriots the blueprint to attack the Seahawks on the ground and Stevenson is expected to have at least 15 carries.

When the Patriots have to take to the air, the focus may be on Hunter Henry- the Tight End position has been one that Seattle have struggled to Defend as effectively as they would have liked and Henry could have a big game and surpass his 40.5 over/under mark even though he has been held to 17 yards in the last two games combined.


One player who may be worth opposing on Sunday is Jaxson Smith-Njigba, despite the high quality season he has produced. Backing him to have fewer than 6.5 receptions might pay out of Christian Gonzalez is following him around the field and with the Seahawks likely keeping Sam Darnold away from throwing the ball too often.

With Zach Charbonnet out of the lineup, Darnold may instead use Kenneth Walker III as a safety blanket out of the backfield and he can surpass the 20.5 receiving yards line set.


The Super Bowl MVP has been the winning Quarter Back more often than not and that is reflected in the prices- of course if you think Seattle or New England can win, the prices on Sam Darnold or Drake Maye to be Super Bowl MVP is more appealing that picking either team to win at shorter odds.

The last non-Quarter Back Super Bowl MVP? Cooper Kupp in his time with the Los Angeles Rams and he is 100-1 to repeat the feat here.

It is not the worst price if you think Smith-Njigba is likely going to have a tough time getting open and so maybe the veteran has to be the key player for the Seattle passing game.

Almost twenty years have passed since a Running Back last finished as MVP, but Kenneth Walker III may have his opportunities to light up the scoreboard and the rushing numbers to make 8.50 quotes look quite big.

Prediction

This might not be the flashy Super Bowl match up that so many would have wanted, but two tough teams will be competing for the biggest prize.

Both Defensive units will be looking to make their mark, but it feels like Seattle have a slight edge on both sides of the ball and that can see them eventually pull clear of the AFC Champion.

The Pick :

New England Patriots 13-24 Seattle Seahawks

FIXED ODDS BETTING :

I'll back Seattle Seahawks - 4.5 Points at -106 with Bookmaker.eu