Super Bowl LX Redux: What’s Changed for Seahawks and Patriots?
The Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots are set for the Super Bowl LX rematch in Seattle on Wednesday night. The Super Bowl championship banner will be raised at Lumen Field and then the two defending conference champions will do battle to kick off the 2026 regular season. The Seahawks punished the Patriots to the tune of a 29-13 victory that certainly could’ve been more lopsided.
A lot can change in an NFL offseason. The draft, free agency, and trades always create roster turnover for all 32 teams year after year. Even though these two squads were the last ones standing last season and now are kicking off the new year, much has changed.
Heading into Wednesday’s opener, how do the two reigning conference champions compare to where they were back in February?
What is the Same?
Starting with the most important incumbents, the two teams return both their head coach and starting quarterback from Super Bowl LX. Drake Maye finished as the NFL MVP runner-up last year. Offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels is still calling plays under Mike Vrabel, with running backs Rhamondre Stevenson and TreVeyon Henderson remaining in the backfield. A large chunk of the offensive line returns, with a few notable additions.
For the Seahawks, Sam Darnold is still slinging it to the same bevy of weapons he had late last year, including reigning Offensive Player of the Year Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Cooper Kupp, Rashid Shaheed, and AJ Barner. Most notably, Seattle returns all five of their starters along the offensive line for the first time since 2004.
Defensively, Milton Williams is still the straw that stirs the drink in the middle of the Patriots’ defensive line. Christian Barmore continues to be a solid complementary piece on the line. Robert Spillane hoovered up tackles in the middle of New England’s defense and that isn’t going to change. Cornerbacks look the same, led by the freshly paid Christian Gonzalez. Carlton Davis III and Marcus Jones are the others.
For Seattle, the defense is largely the same. That being, the top scoring defense from last year along with its play caller in head coach Mike Macdonald. Unfortunately, injuries have hit the secondary ahead of Week 1, with Nick Emmanwori and Ty Okada both needing positive developments before game time in order to play.
What is Different?
The most exciting move in New England this offseason was trading for the Eagles’ No. 1 receiver A.J. Brown. This gives Maye an explosive weapon he simply did not have last season. Brown is certainly a different problem for the Seahawks defense that they didn’t have to deal with in Super Bowl LX. New England also added Romeo Doubs to round out the receiver corps. Along the offensive line, the addition of Alijah Vera-Tucker at left guard brings hope that the line won’t be as generous to Seattle’s pass rush this time around.
In Seattle, the biggest addition of the offseason was via the draft. Needing to replace Super Bowl LX MVP Kenneth Walker III at running back, Seattle opted to use their 32nd overall pick on Notre Dame’s Jadarian Price. He is set to get a large share of the carries early on, even as a rookie. He wasn’t the only addition to the running back room, as Seattle added Emanuel Wilson from Green Bay. They will hold the fort down with George Holani until Zach Charbonnet can be removed from the PUP list.
On defense, the Patriots added two big pieces. Former Seahawk Dre’Mont Jones joins the fray and may be relied upon early with Harold Landry beginning this season on the PUP list. The biggest addition was First Team All-Pro safety Kevin Byard, who tied for the NFL lead with seven interceptions last season. He looks to add more takeaways to this defense now led by defensive coordinator Zak Kuhr.
The Seahawks are almost a copy-paste version of themselves on defense from last year. However, the depth at safety and cornerback are questions. The addition of Trevon Diggs is exciting but he is technically not on the 53-man roster as of Tuesday and would need promoted if he were to play against New England. Terrion Arnold is on the team but currently unavailable and on the Commissioner's Exempt List. Seattle may need to add D’Anthony Bell, Rodney Thomas, or AJ Finley to the roster if both Okada and Emmanwori can’t play.
Overall, the teams look quite similar. The Patriots certainly made more sizable additions with big names like Brown, Vera-Tucker, and Byard. New England feels more prepared to play Seattle in this rematch, even if a Lombardi Trophy isn’t on the line this time.
