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Stat
The last three Super Bowls averaged 25 points in the first half. I told you fols to take the under! Scroll back, it’s there!
E-mail!
Kirkby is back:
“The stupidest stat ever….Seattle’s win percentage is at 75% and they are not even one score in front.”
Well, it is an odds based thing, and New England can't move the ball, so six points feels like a lot more right now, doesn’t it?
Seahawks 6-0 Patriots, 2:50 2nd quarter
On 2nd & 7 Maye is on the run! He moves to his right while being chased and throws it away.
So another big down coming up! But not before a flag! That’s right, a penalty, the first of the game. It’s a false start on the left tackle, Campbell, which means they’re a bit off balance. So it’s 3rd & 12 and Maye is airing it out! He’s seeking Hollins on the far right side, but it’s too long!
So another Pats punt after a single NE first down. Seattle will start at their own 43, good field position!
Seahawks 6-0 Patriots, 3:21 2nd quarter
A good timeout – Seattle had just 10 players on the field.
Now Maye will pass…incomplete! He was looking for Hollins up the middle.
So it’s another 3rd & long for the Pats. And get this! Maye finds Douglas on the right side, complete for a first down! Wow! That’s a nine-yard gain but it feels like 90! Ball is on the NE14.
Seahawks 6-0 Patriots, 4:21 2nd quarter
Bad Bunny is standing by, but first, can New England get out of the doghouse? They’re at their own two and Stevenson runs for about three yards, so that gives NE a bit of wiggle room.
Maye takes the snap on second down but Seattle take their first timeout. When we return, it’s 2nd & 7.
Email!
Rowan Sweeny says:
“I’m not sure who taught you how to play chess, but if smearing your stationary opponent into next week, then making them punt the most important piece 50m away features heavily, I’d love to watch your next game!”
That’s a good point, Rowan!
Seahawks 6-0 Patriots, 4:58 2nd quarter
Darnold from the shotgun, quick fire to Walker and it’s incomplete! So New England stop that little bit of Seattle momentum there with a timely spot.
That’s great news, except the punt is coffin-cornered perfectly by Dickson at the two!
New England will have their backs against their own end zone to start this drive!
Seahawks 6-0 Patriots, 5:15 2nd quarter
On 2nd & 6, Walker has the ball again and he gets a single yard. So it’s 3rd & 5 – big down coming up!
Seahawks 6-0 Patriots, 6:26 2nd quarter
On first down, Darnold is pushed out of the pocket before throwing incomplete in search of Walker on the near sideline.
On the other sideline, Darnold does hook up with Kupp! It’s an eight-yard gain – so it’s 3rd & 2.
Now he’s passing again and finds Walker after stepping out of trouble! A six-yard gain for a first down!
Is this a real drive? Ball at the NE 44.
Seahawks 6-0 Patriots, 8:00 2nd quarter
OK, here comes another drive and it begins with another healthy Walker run, this time for nine yards. He’s up to 85 this half.
On 2nd & 1, here comes Walker again, wight into the pack, up the middle, and he has just enough for the first down. The ball is at the Hawks 39.
Seahawks 6-0 Patriots, 9:16 2nd quarter
Stevenson takes the handoff up the middle for about three yards.
Then Maye from the shotgun is sacked by Mills! Maye kind of just stood there like a statue – I don’t think he thought there was much of a threat there, but there was!
3rd & 17 coming up and Diggs, who we haven’t heard from, runs for about five yards, so clearly Vrabel is more than happy to wait for his moment before pulling out his bag of tricks … or, like, a basic offense.
The punt is caught fairly by Shaheed at the 29.
If you like chess, you came to the right place.
Seahawks 6-0 Patriots, 11:16 2nd quarter
New England catches the kickoff in the end zone – they’ll start at the 35.
Email!
The legend Hunter Felt is here and he says:
“It’s been a bit but, uh, I remember football as being a tad more thrilling than this.”
Joke’s on you Hunter, it’s 6-0 now!
FIELD GOAL! Seahawks 6-0 Patriots, 11:16 2nd quarter
3rd & 12 coming up and the drive stalls after the Seahawks run! Why are they running? Because they don’t think they can pass! It’s conservative but Seattle are happy to take the points. Can you blame them? Myers is good from 39 out. Eight plays, 39 yards in 2:54.
Is Myers the MVP so far? I joke … maybe.
Seahawks 3-0 Patriots, 13:10 2nd quarter
Walker again, this time up the middle, wiggling through with even more space, and the running back has opened up the Pats some on this drive! That’s a gain of 29 more hard yards! Seattle is on the 19!
Seahawks 3-0 Patriots, 13:34 2nd quarter
Darnold airs it out! He’s looking for the streaking Shaheed, and he has a step on Gonzalez but the All-Pro bats it down, making a fantastic play to break it up! Wow!
Now Walker is running left and has room down the near sideline! That’s a 30-yard gain, the biggest of this game for Seattle, for anyone! Ball on the NE 46!
Seahawks 3-0 Patriots, 14:10 2nd quarter
OK, so this is a war, as Maye is nearly intercepted over the middle as the ball bounces off Henry and nearly into the hands of the Seahawks.
It’s 3rd & 5. It’s a draw play – Maye hands to Stevenson who goes absolutely nowhere.
The punt is caught fairly at the Seattle 22 where the Seahawks will begin.
Seahawks 3-0 Patriots, end of 1st quarter
Stevenson ends the quarter with a run up the middle for about five yards to the NE 37, bringing this defensive quarter to a close. It seems a miracle that Seattle got three points. Vrabel made his adjustments quickly and Seattle have failed to move the ball since their first drive.
Now, can the Pats get any kind of offense going?
Seahawks 3-0 Patriots, 0:19 1st quarter
Darnold throws before being hit, incomplete! Wow, that’s pressure from New England! He was looking for Smith-Njigba but how could he even see him? It’s 3rd and 15.
Now he’s looking for Smith-Njigba on the far sideline, and no dice – incomplete! Another drive is quashed!
Defense rules right now in Santa Clara.
Brown catches the punt, goes back, goes forward and falls at the 32. Here come the Pats again.
Seahawks 3-0 Patriots, 1:00 1st quarter
Darnold finds a streaking Barner on a slant to convert a 3rd and 8, spinning after the catch for a few extra yards. It’s a 12-yard catch, first down Seattle!
Seahawks 3-0 Patriots, 2:18 1st quarter
Walker pushes the pack for a short gain.
Now it’s 2nd and 8 – Walker runs to his left this time for another short gain and it’s 3rd and long coming up.
Seahawks 3-0 Patriots, 3:29 1st quarter
So the Pats pass the gut-check and get set for their second drive. Maye is in the pocket with time! He finds Boutte for a gain of 21! Don’t give that kid time, folks!
Now Henderson is running but he is wrapped up for a loss of four. Then Henderson makes a catch out of the backfield and is also wrapped up for a loss on the near sideline.
Add it all up and it’s 3rd and 15 … and Maye now has NO time to do anything! Witherspoon comes in on a corner blitz and takes him down!
That means another punt for the Patriots! That’s sack 17 of Maye in the playoffs. Ouch!
The punt is 52 yards and after a small return, Seattle will be back at it at their 13.
Seahawks 3-0 Patriots, 6:07 1st quarter
On 3rd & 6 New England are swarming Darnold! He avoids the sack but then Smith-Njigba is open! Darnold chucks it up but the ball sails over his head, incomplete! That would have been six for Seattle if he makes that catch. Instead, it’s three-and-out.
The punt is caught fairly on the Patriots 35, so decent field position to start for NE.
Seahawks 3-0 Patriots, 6:51 1st quarter
Good first down by NE, who nearly force Darnold into a mistake – a batted ball is almost intercepted as the QB ends the play on his back.
Big drive coming up
Credit the Seattle defense for making life uncomfortable for Maye and forcing the punt. Now if they can come back and get in the endzone, we will start to wonder about the Pats hanging on and keeping this game competitive.
That’s another way of saying this drive represents an early gut-check form New England.
Seahawks 3-0 Patriots, 7:11 1st quarter
On 1st & 10 Maye is under pressure! Hall has a Super Bowl sack, pushing the pats back 10 yards and back into their own territory.
But he comes right back and steps into the pocket and takes off! The Seahawks didn’t have to face that v LA. That’s an 11-yard run for the QB!
Now it’s 3rd & 9. Here comes the pass rush and Maye chucks it out of bounds. Seattle holds and New England punts!
The Seahwaks will start at their own 10-yard-line after a fair catch.
Seahawks 3-0 Patriots, 9:24 1st quarter
A pair of NE runs makes it 3rd & 2 – can Seattle hold? No! Stevenson has a catch for a first down! Love had a chance to make a play and halt the drive but the running back made his move and had just enough to earn a fresh set of downs.
Seahawks 3-0 Patriots, 11:28 1st quarter
Myers kicks off to Johnson who has a short return. New England start with the kid under center from the 28. Can the Pats move the ball as well as Seattle did?
FIELD GOAL! Seahawks 3-0 Patriots, 11:58 1st quarter
The Pats bend but don’t break and Myers is good from 33 yards. It’s a nine play drive that ate up just 3:02 of clock and could have been more for Seattle.
Seahawks 0-0 Patriots, 12:02 1st quarter
On 3rd and 7, Darnold looks for Shaheed on a short out on the far sideline, but it’s incomplete! The Patriots hold, here comes the field goal unit.
Seahawks 0-0 Patriots, 12:15 1st quarter
Darnold drops back – there’s no pass rush and he finds the tight end for a healthy gain! That’s 15 to Barner. Now Darnold is back at it again, firing and finding Cupp for 17. The Seahawks are down to the 17 already!
Seahawks 0-0 Patriots, 14:00 1st quarter
Walker takes the hand-off and finds the edge on the far sideline – a healthy gain of 10 on our first play from scrimmage. First down!
Kick-off!
It’s real and it’s wonderful. Super Bowl 60 is up and running, and so I have to ask, how will it end? No return, Seattle start at their 35! Let’s go!
Coin Flip
Here’s the big flip, which takes about five minutes instead of 10 seconds because of all the pomp and circumstance. If you picked Seattle to win the flip, you picked wrong! New England won the toss and will kickoff and take the ball after halftime, resuming play in whatever haze the show leaves behind.
Kick-off is going to happen very soon. Really!
From the stadium
Guardian editor Tom Lutz reports on the anthem.
“Everyone in the stadium around me stood, except for one large gentleman who looked like he could handle any haters. The biggest cheer, as always, was the flypast of the fighter jets. They were heading north - hopefully not towards Greenland.”
Emails!
Seth Mazerik:
“Well David, after years of watching the Patriots cheat and a new era of having Tom-The-Terror Braydeedee give some of the worst performances as an announcer I’ll be routing for the Oceanbirds. I’ve boycotted kraft macaroni and cheese on principle and put the TV on mute so my ears don’t catch T.B. should it be present.”
Barry Ragin:
“Hi David - I expect it’ll be 11:40 or so here in Ireland by the time the game kicks off, so you’d get longer odds on me being awake at the end than for any possible combination of teams to be playing in it. That said, New England is just far easier to hate on. I don’t even think my Boston friends are rooting for them. Go Seattle!”
Peter Savage
“I’m going for the Seahawks. Not because I’m a fan of theirs or have any inside knowledge. But because I bought two NFL team jumpers within the last few years, from a well known UK sports shop for approximately a tenner a pair. One being the Patriots the other Seahawks. I went to find them earlier. And realised I had thrown out my Patriots jumper due to Milton stains(parents will know of these). So go Seahawks. 100% behind them even though I probably won’t stay up beyond the next 10 mins as work tomorrow.
Anthem
Here is Grammy-nominated singer Charlie Puth about to sing the national anthem. Since I have no idea who that is, I asked my daughter if he was any good. She said “eh, he’s alright.” Well, I’ll be the judge of that! Charlie Puth knows the bar is pretty much unreachable, with Whitney Houston’s Super Bowl 25 version the gold standard.
So, how did he do? Well, I think he had a choir or backup vocals? Is that right? That’s kind of cheating, so I would normally give him an incomplete. The vocals themselves were pretty reasonable, so I would give him a 6.7/10, with a penalty for the choir if I really had to.
Also, the Super Bowl flyover seemed to be quite high and looked more like a Learjet. Was that botched?
Vrabel is the ultimate ____ starter
If you believe Willie McGinest, Mike Vrabel’s former defensive colleague with the Patriots, Vrabel knows how to agitate his opponents, going as far as to conduct independent research on players he’d match-up against in his bid to wind them up as much as possible.
This video also mentions that Vrabel caught touchdown passes in the Super Bowl as a tight end as one of coach Bill Belichick’s big game wrinkles. And it makes you wonder, will Vrabel launch some sort of jaw-dropping trick play now that it’s his turn at the helm? I would say it’s highly possible some razzle-dazzle plays are in our near future.
Kick-off soon!
America the Beautiful
I’m a little confused as to why we need two America songs before the big game, but Brandi Carlile is on the field belting it out. Regular readers know I will only rank The Star-Spangled Banner, which is coming up shortly.
Shoulder Update
In case you’re wondering, the world’s most discussed shoulder – the most discussed ACL belongs to Lindsey Vonn – belongs to Drake Maye and is no longer an issue, according to the Patriots quarterback. The pivot is no longer listed on the New England injury report and he expects to benefit from the non-blizzard playing conditions in Santa Clara.
Alternate “Bowls”
We’ve had Bud Bowl and the much adored Puppy Bowl and now there’s a new edition, the “Pedo Bowl”. The projection created by street artist “vjaybombs” in Las Vegas calls out Donald Trump, Bill Clinton and other highly prominent men whose names have been mentioned in the Epstein files. As the legacy of groundbreaking Super Bowl ads have shown us, there’s always room for creative spaces and controversy when it comes to the big game.
Mack Hollins
The Patriots wide receiver seems to be quite serious. I hope he brought another outfit for later, especially if the Pats lose.
E-mail!
This in from Steve Robinson:
“Like you David, I’m struggling to choose who to support. As a Niners fan, do I really want a division rival to win it all on our turf, especially given they smashed us out of the playoffs? But I can’t get up any enthusiasm for the Patriots and I really don’t want to see Kraft lift the Lombardi again.”
Yeah, it’s very tough. Like pouring lemon juice on a cut. No thanks!
Defens(s)e!
I loved the take from Andrew Beaton of the WSJ, that both of these coaches came from defensive backgrounds in an era where offense seems to dominate the game in almost every way. The coaching match-up goes against the grain, with the last six Super Bowls have been led by offensive brains. In 60, the bosses are Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald, who attended the University of Harbaugh, coaching defense with the Ravens and at Michigan, while Pats coach Mike Vrabel played linebacker for Bill Belichick’s Patriots, learning from possibly the best defensive mind of all-time. Does that mean we have a 2009 Rams/Patriots type 13-3 game in our near future? Likely not - offenses mostly abuse defenses in the NFL nowadays, but perhaps these coaches will find a way to tie up these quarterbacks and slow down any impending track meet. That’s one way of saying “take the under”.
Here comes a regular!
Our loyal reader Roger Kirkby is always with us, and he would like us to know that…
“…my stats tell me that New England have never won a Super Bowl on the west coast (Arizona is the closest they’ve come). I see it staying that way and am hoping for a Seattle rampage in the first half so I don’t have to stay up all night.”
I don’t think it’s gonna happen that way Roger. I have New England with the upset special, 27-17, mostly thanks to a genius game-plan from the Pats head coach Mike Vrabel.
From the Editor!
Please enjoy this message from big boss man Tom Lutz who is at the game.
“Hello from sunny Santa Clara, where it’s a beautiful, warm winter’s day. The teams are warming up on the field - the Patriots in white and the Seahawks in blue. From the press box, it looks like a 50-50 split of fans. although there were slightly more New England fans in San Francisco this weekend.”
and…
“There were a few signs of anti-ICE protests on the way to the stadium. A bridge over the highway was strewn with upside-down US flags as protestors held anti-ICE signs and urged passing motorists to honk their horns in support of immigrants. My coach driver didn’t, but she was on official NFL business so I guess she wanted to stay neutral.”
Black Anthem
Coco Jones is the Grammy Award-winning R&B artist on the field in Santa Clara as we get closer to kickoff and actual football! Will it be worth the wait?
I wanted to be with you alone…
…and talk about the weather.
I’m looking at the weather forecast for Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, and it seems that the threat of rain has dissipated and it’s clear skies ahead. The temps? Much milder than the Brooklyn igloo I’m typing in. It’ll be about 66 degrees Fahrenheit at kick off, that’s around 19 Celsius if you’re scoring at home, and your home is metric. It’ll drop to around 56/15 with winds out of northwest with gusts up to a measly seven mph. So this will be a quite the change for the Pats, who played, more or less, in two blizzards in route to Super Bowl 60. Advantage New England!
Orchids of Asia
It sounds like an exhibit at The Bronx Botanical Garden, but it’s actually the Florida “spa” that Patriots owner Robert Kraft was picked up at following a sting operation at the Jupiter massage joint a few years back. Well, this weekend, TMZ reported that Bill Belichick’s girlfriend Jordon Hudson was spotted wearing a t-shirt with an Orchids of Asia logo. The font selection is suspect, but the elite level trolling by Belichick, who is no fan of Kraft, and his company can not be debated. Apparently, it’s set off quite the reaction amongst a certain Patriots super fan. Just another fun Super Bowl wrinkle!
Let us pray…
According to the folks digging up every possible stat possible in the run up to the Super Bowl, the Seahawks have quite the link to, you guessed it, 21st-century popes.
Seattle have reached the Super Bowl each year a new pope took the reigns at the Vatican, losing to the Steelers in 2005/2006, burying the Broncos in 2013/2014 48-3, and now, with the new Boss Leo letting down his home town Bears, they’re back, looking to go over .500.
The bad news is that popes don’t die that often and Leo seems quite healthy, so don’t bet on a Seattle dynasty!
Hello!
…and welcome to our live coverage of the Super Bowl!
First off, just let me say that I’m 100% committed to a Latin free Big Show blog. So for those of us not living in the Roman Empire, let’s say it clearly: this is the 60th version of the AFC-NFC Championship Game, and it’s a match-up that few would have put a flutter on way back in September when the season began. If you had, you’d have done quite well: the odds of the Seahawks and Patriots facing off for the Lombardi trophy were 4800 to 1, which is on the hail Mary side of a long shot. And yet here they are, getting set to get to kick off in about an hour-and-a-half from now. That means the fan bases on opposite ends of the country are starting to get that squirm in the stomach while the rest of us relax and dip our chips under no pressure whatsoever.
But what about the neutrals? Who are they supporting? Personally, I’ve found it quite difficult to peg my loyalty to one of these clubs. Why? Because there’s no underdog I’ve been able to grow closer to. The Seahawks are the favorites, and who wants to just jump on the bandwagon? Lame! That said, they do have the ultimate quarterback underdog leading their team. Sam Darnold is an all-time draft bust that bloomed long after his NFL draft obit was written. He put together back-to-back playoff seasons and wiped out the elite 49ers and Rams en route to the Super Bowl. Nobody saw that coming, and it’s warm and fuzzy, but again, he’s playing with the favorites. So now what? The Patriots? They’re underdogs, with Vegas handing them a 4.5 point lead. Regardless, they’re the biggest Massholes of all-time, owners of six Super Bowl titles, a couple of scandals, a coach that was detested and a pretty-boy QB who was annoyingly awesome. If you’re not a Patriots fan, the last thing you want is another decade of Robert Kraft and company.
So there’s no true, obvious underdog in this Super Bowl, which leads me to the question: which do you want to see in the confetti shower tonight and why? Let me know and we’ll get your name in the paper and chew this one out together. E-mail me on david.lengel@theguardian.com and i’ll make you famous.
More to come, stick with us!
Anti-ICE sentiment has made an appearance at the big game
Seattle’s Aden Durde will be the first British coach to appear in the Super Bowl. He wants to ensure he’s not the last.
A great story by Melissa Jacobs:
A good pregame read: Guardian US arts writer Adrian Horton on Bad Bunny – the ultrapopular star who will take over the Super Bowl half-time show and will continue to be at the center of the US culture wars:
Who is going to win? What will the score be? Who will be MVP?
Our team of experts have predictions for all of that and more:
Fans are starting to arrive at Levi’s Stadium ahead of the showpiece event
David will be here shortly. In the meantime, here are our writers’ score predictions:
The final score will be …
Seahawks 27-24 Patriots. The best unit on the field is Seattle’s defense. After that, everything else feels like a wash. The Seahawks pass-rush is relentless and runs deep; they had six different players record at least 35 pressures this year, while no other team had more than four such players. The Patriots’ offensive line is vulnerable – and pass rushers typically decide championship games. It’s going to take a special performance from Maye (and maybe a trick play to rob a possession) to keep the Patriots in it. Oliver Connolly
Seahawks. By a lot. The Seahawks are a top-to-bottom juggernaut that can beat you so many ways. New England’s high blitz-rate success has gotten them this far, but Seattle can beat them so many ways. Quarterback protection? Check. Staunch run game? Check. High-octane passing attack? Check. Seattle’s offense is essentially quarterback proof, especially when your quarterback can compartmentalize his rags-to-riches story. Meanwhile, New England’s offense is not quite quarterback-proof, and Maye’s miscues will hurt the Patriots much more than in their three previous matchups. It’s easy to envision Maye forcing poor throws once blinded by Seattle’s defense, and Vrabel and McDaniels getting too cutesy once down a couple of scores. Melissa Jacobs
Seahawks 27-17 Patriots. Darnold settles down and plays yet another clean playoff game on the way to claiming MVP honors and cementing the signature win of his career at last, in a redemption story that gives critics more reason to pile on the Jets for holding up his progress. Mike Macdonald makes coaching defense sexy again and the loss of Kubiak – reportedly bound for Las Vegas after this game – begins the talent raid on the Seattle coaching staff. The Patriots put up a valiant fight, but Maye’s arm proves too weak in the end – but the loss just sets them up for an epic revenge tour that ends with right back in this same spot next year. Andrew Lawrence
Seahawks 17-27 Patriots. Gonzalez wins the matchup with Smith-Njigba, shrinking the options for Darnold, who regresses for all the world to see. It’s not because Darnold isn’t good: he’s an excellent quarterback and a wonderful story, and I’m happy for him, really. He’s just about to face an upstart coaching staff that has the gameplan and the pieces to make Darnold uncomfortable, frustrated and mistake prone. Maye will have just enough to get in the endzone twice, and will be helped by an interception by Gonzalez that he takes to the house. That means we have to see more of postgame Robert Kraft amid the red, white and blue confetti. Yuck. David Lengel
Seahawks 31-32 Patriots. The rise of a team written off in August as 70-1 rank outsiders is a heartwarming tale often lost in a sport dominated by extreme wealth, statistics and hot takes. Yes, their schedule was “easy” – and they even lost to the Raiders – yet here we are. No team with preseason odds longer than 40-1 have won the Super Bowl since Tom Brady’s legendary first win in the 2001 season. Coincidence? Graham Searles
