ESPN - The Seahawks and Patriots are headed to Super Bowl LX, which kicks off at 6:30 p.m. ET on Feb. 8 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California.

With two weeks until the big game, we’re taking an early look at the matchup. Lindsey Thiry sets it up with what to know, and our NFL Nation reporters Mike Reiss and Brady Henderson pick reasons for hope and concern for both teams. Seth Walder gives you some key stats, Matt Bowen picks a key matchup and Eric Moody pulls out an X factor. Aaron Schatz answers big questions surrounding the final game of the season, Dan Graziano judges one potential overreaction and Ben Solak explores the quarterback matchup. And finally, we have early gut-reaction predictions from our experts.

Does the Patriots’ secondary stand a chance against Seahawks receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba? Will New England’s Drake Maye become the fifth quarterback to win a Super Bowl in their second NFL season?

Forever ingrained in Seahawks and Patriots lore is cornerback Malcolm Butler’s interception at the 1-yard line to secure a 28-24 victory in Super Bowl XLIX at the end of the 2014 season. This upcoming contest marks the ninth time there has been a Super Bowl rematch. New England has been involved in four of those matchups, the most by any team. For the Patriots, it’s a return to the Super Bowl after a six-year absence following the end of the Bill Belichick-Tom Brady dynasty. And for the Seahawks, it will be their fourth appearance.

Tucked away in the Pacific Northwest, coach Mike MacDonald and the Seahawks quietly built on their 10-7 record in Mac-Donald’s first season, winning the NFC West and earning the No. 1 seed in Year 2. In his first season in Seattle, quarterback Sam Darnold joined Tom Brady as the only quarterbacks to put together back-toback 14-win seasons. Boasting the top scoring defense (17.2 points allowed per game), the Seahawks also received a midseason boost with the acquisition of wide receiver Rashid Shaheed. His standout play as a return specialist provided sparks in multiple key wins.

In his first season as New England’s head coach, Mike Vrabel orchestrated a turnaround that took a 4-13 team to the Patriots’ first division title since winning 11 straight from 2009 to 2019.

They are the sixth team to reach the Super Bowl after having five or fewer wins in the previous season. The last team to win a Super Bowl in this scenario was the 2001 Patriots -- Brady’s first season as the starting QB. After a 1-2 start in 2025, the Patriots won 13 of their next 14 games behind a top-five scoring offense and defense. Second-year quarterback Drake Maye led the NFL in Total QBR (77.1) this season.

Seattle Seahawks Regular season: 14-3 | NFC seed: No. 1 Reason for hope : Defense wins championships, and the Seahawks have an elite one. Mike Macdonald’s unit allowed the fewest points in the NFL in the regular season at 16.4 per game, and then it turned it up a notch in the divisional round against the 49ers. Seattle held San Francisco to a pair of field goals, got three takeaways and forced three more turnovers on downs. The Seahawks have now gone 27 straight games without allowing a 100yard rusher despite facing Christian McCaffrey twice, Kyren Williams twice, Bijan Robinson once and Jonathan Taylor once over the past two months.

Reason for concern: Turnovers. Only Minnesota committed more than Seattle’s 28 during the regular season. Sam Darnold made the Pro Bowl despite leading all players with 20 turnovers, though he didn’t give the ball away in the Seahawks’ past three games. Darnold is also playing through an oblique injury, and Seattle’s offense just lost one of its most reliable players -- running back Zach Charbonnet -- to an ACL tear. -- Henderson

New England Patriots Regular season: 14-3 | AFC seed: No. 2 Reason for hope : Quarterback Drake Maye. His knack for making plays with his arm and legs is unique, as is his pinpoint accuracy on deep passes -- even when he’s escaping the pocket. In the regular season, he led the NFL in completion percentage (72%), passer rating (113.5) and yards per attempt (8.93). Maye’s 37-yard run in the wild-card round set a franchise record, and he had a 28-yarder to set up the Patriots’ go-ahead field goal in the AFC title game. Paired with a defense that has proven it can play at a high level in the postseason, it’s a potentially dangerous combination.

Reason for concern : Turnovers -- same as the Seahawks. Maye fumbled six times in the Patriots’ first two playoff matchups (losing three of them), and he also had a tipped-ball interception against the Chargers. So, the Patriots have been living dangerously at times with ball security. Youth is also a consideration. In addition to four undrafted free agents, the Patriots have all 11 draft picks from 2025 on their roster. The Super Bowl is a big stage for rookies.

Stats to know

SEAHAWKS: Every number tells the same story against the Seahawks’ defense: You cannot run on it. Opponent success rate on designed runs against Seattle is just 34%, the lowest in the NFL. Its EPA per play on those plays is minus-0.15, also the lowest. And opponents have managed minus-34 first downs over expectation, per NFL Next Gen Stats, when rushing against Seattle. That’s by far the lowest in the league (next closest is the Texans at minus-14).

PATRIOTS: The Patriots are the best team in the most important part of football: passing offense (0.23 EPA per play). They also have the largest gap between their EPA per play on designed passes versus designed runs (0.28 difference), so it’s critical that they put the ball in Maye’s hands as much as possible in the Super Bowl. And they’ve done that up to this point with the second-highest pass rate over expected (plus-4%) in the NFL, per NFL Next Gen Stats.

A majority of NFL analysis predict a victory for the Seahawks come Super Bowl Sunday.