Patriots reach Super Bowl – will Seahawks join them?

Update: The Seattle Seahawks beat the Los Angeles Rams 31-27 in the NFC Championship on Sunday to clinch a spot in the Super Bowl on Feb. 8 against the AFC champion New England Patriots. 

If the Seattle Seahawks make it to the Super Bowl, it will be a repeat matchup against one of their opponents from their previous appearances in the title game.

The New England Patriots beat the Broncos in snowy conditions in Denver in the AFC Championship on Sunday, punching their ticket to the Super Bowl on Feb. 8 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif.

New England Patriots 10, Denver Broncos 7 | Box score

The Patriots were of course Seattle’s foe the last time the Seahawks were the NFC champions. That was Super Bowl 49 in February 2015, which ended when the Patriots’ Malcolm Butler intercepted Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson in the end zone, preventing the Seahawks from winning back-to-back Super Bowls on perhaps the most painful single play in Seattle sports history.

The Seahawks will have a shot at redemption against the Pats if they can make it past the Los Angeles Rams in Sunday’s NFC Championship at Lumen Field in Seattle – not that there’s much tying the current Seahawks and Patriots teams to their last meeting in the postseason.

Former Seahawks coach Pete Carroll is gone, as is longtime Patriots coach Bill Belichick. The aforementioned Wilson’s Seahawks tenure was three teams ago, and legendary Patriots QB Tom Brady not only is out of the game, but is in the FOX broadcast booth for Sunday’s NFC Championship between the Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams.

Both Seattle and New England are led by successful coaches who have been hired in recent years, with the Patriots’ Mike Vrabel in his first season coaching the team he previously played linebacker for, and the Seahawks’ Mike Macdonald in his second season. Both New England and Seattle went 14-3 in the regular season.

If the Seahawks lose to the Rams on Sunday, then it will be a repeat of the Super Bowl 53 matchup when New England beat Los Angeles 13-3 in February 2019.

This will be the Patriots’ 12th Super Bowl appearance, which is four more than any other team in NFL history. They have six Super Bowl wins, tied with the Pittsburgh Steelers for the most.

Super Bowl 60 is set for a 3:30 p.m. kickoff on Sunday, Feb. 8, with the TV broadcast being carried on NBC.

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