Super Bowl LXis set. TheNew England Patriotswill square off against theSeattle Seahawkson Feb. 8 in Santa Clara, Calif. It's thesecond time these two franchises have met in the Super Bowl,and the first was a thriller.
There's ample reason to believe this one will be exciting, too. Here's a deeper look by the numbers at what's at stake.
(Special thanks to the AP's Josh Dubow and NFL researchers Dante Koplowitz-Fleming, Tony Holzman-Escareno,Zak Koeppeland Jack Andrade for the facts and figures.)
Thenumber of wins quarterbacks age 24 or younger have against Mike Macdonaldsince he became head coach of the Seahawks. Drake Maye is 23.
Seattle's John Schneider is the first general manager in NFL historyto make multiple Super Bowls with the same franchise with a completely new roster and head coach.
Drake Maye is the second QB in NFL historyto defeat the top three scoring defenses from the regular season in the same postseason, joining Peyton Manning in the 2006 season.
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This is thethird Super Bowl between starting QBs picked in the top fiveof their respective drafts — as well as the first between QBs each picked third overall — following Peyton Manning vs. Cam Newton in Super Bowl 50 and Matthew Stafford vs. Joe Burrow in Super Bowl LVI.
This is thefourth Super Bowl between head coaches in their first or second seasonon the job, following Super Bowl XXXVI (Bill Belichick's Patriots vs. Mike Martz's Rams), Super Bowl XXXVII (Jon Gruden's Buccaneers vs. Bill Callahan's Raiders), and Super Bowl XLIII (Mike Tomlin's Steelers vs. Ken Whisenhunt's Cardinals).
Sam Darnold has played with five teams in his NFL career, the most for a QB making his first Super Bowl start since Atlanta's Chris Chandler in the 1998 season (six).
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This is thesixth time in Super Bowl historythe game will pit two teams that missed the playoffs the previous season, following Super Bowls III (Jets-Colts), XVI (49ers-Bengals), XXXIV (Rams-Titans), XXXV (Ravens-Giants), and XXXVIII (Patriots-Panthers).
The Patriots are in search of their seventh Super Bowl title, which would break a tie with the Steelers for most by a single franchise all time. (Tom Brady, of course, has seven on his own with the Patriots and Buccaneers.)
This postseason has already featured eight games decided by 4 points or fewer, breaking the previous playoff record of six,which happened in both 2006 and 2021.
This is the Patriots' 12th Super Bowl appearance, extending their own NFL record. Four teams (Cowboys, Steelers, 49ers and Broncos) are tied for second at eight.
The Seahawks are looking to become the 17th NFL franchise with multiple Super Bowl titles. The Eagles were the most recent team to accomplish the feat last season.
17.2
Thecombined points allowed by both the Seahawks' and Patriots' defensesthis season, including playoffs, the fewest on average in the league.
Thenumber of giveaways Sam Darnold committedduring the regular season, the most in the regular season. The last QB to lead the NFL in giveaways and make the Super Bowl? Eli Manning in 2007, when his Giants beat the Patriots to win the title.
Thetotal number of points the Patriots have allowedin three games this postseason in reaching the Super Bowl, the fewest since the 2000 Ravens allowed just 16 in their first three playoff games.
Days older than Dan Marino that Drake Maye would be when he starts Super Bowl LX. Marino is the youngest starting QB in Super Bowl history at 23 years, 127 days, and Maye would be 23 years, 162 days.
Thetotal number of regular season games played by Patriots players in their first seasonwith the team, the most by far of any team to make the Super Bowl that same year. (The 2021 Bengals held the previous record of 327.)
