It’s one of the most iconic and dumbest plays in Super Bowl history. Super Bowl 49, Seahawks against Patriots, on the one yard line, the Seahawks – who had Marshawn Lynch a.k.a Beast Mode – need a touchdown to beat the Patriots in the final minute of the fourth quarter. Instead of handing it to arguably the most physical running back in NFL history, the Seahawks offensive coordinator, Darrell Bevell, called a slant play that gets picked off in the endzone by undrafted rookie Malcolm Butler to seal the win 28-24 for the Patriots in what many call the beginning of the second Patriots dynasty.

Now, a decade later, these two teams face off in the Super Bowl once again. The Patriots, led by second year quarterback Drake Maye, have had what some believe has been a relatively easy road to the Super Bowl, while the Seahawks, led by veteran QB and former Minnesota Viking Sam Darnold, have had a tougher road to the big game.

Both teams have some of the youngest rosters in the NFL, with both having an average age of 26.3 years old. Each team also has new head coaches, with the Patriots hiring Mike Vrabel at the beginning of this season, and the Seahawks hiring Mike Macdonald before the 2024-25 season.

If Drake Maye wins the Super Bowl this Sunday, he will become the second quarterback ever to win his first four playoff games – Tom Brady was the first and won his first ten – and Maye would become the youngest QB to ever win the Super Bowl. On the other side, Sam Darnold is the first quarterback from the 2018 draft class to make the Super Bowl, Darnold is also the second quarterback to win fourteen plus games in back-to-back seasons. Once again, Tom Brady was the first to do it.

Many football fans have said that this football season has been one of the best in football history between the NFL and College Football, largely due to the redemption of Indiana football and multiple close games this season, including multiple overtime games during the NFL playoffs. Both the Seahawks and Patriots have very high-powered offenses, but each team also has some of the top ranked defenses, making this rematch a much anticipated, and hopefully exciting, finale to the NFL season.