Tag: Super Bowl LX

Feb 4, 2026; Santa Clara, CA, USA; NBC Peacock television camera with Super Bowl LX logo at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Super Bowl LX ratings given late boost, still shy of record

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Nielsen adjusted the ratings for Super Bowl LX, bumping the final viewership numbers to 125.6 million.

The Seattle Seahawks’ victory over the New England Patriots was originally reported to have averaged 124.9 million viewers across NBC, Peacock, Telemundo and other digital platforms. Nielsen said the update was to due a Big Data provider not properly collecting data from its devices on game day.

The new figure still makes Super Bowl LX the second-most watched in history, trailing the record 127.7 million who watched last year’s Super Bowl. However, the Feb. 8 game, won 29-13 by Seattle, was the most-watched show in NBC history and drew a combined average household rating of 39.7.

–Field Level Media

Feb 8, 2026; Santa Clara, CA, USA; Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold (14) celebrates with defensive end Leonard Williams (99) after defeating the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LX at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

Super Bowl LX sets U.S. media record; Bad Bunny draws 4B+ social views

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Super Bowl LX was the second-most watched show in United States TV history and set a domestic record for peak viewership, the NFL revealed Tuesday.

Sunday’s game in Santa Clara, Calif., where the Seattle Seahawks defeated the New England Patriots 29-13, averaged 124.9 million viewers across NBC, Peacock, Telemundo, and other digital platforms. It fell short of the record 127.7 million who watched last year’s Super Bowl but ranked No. 2 and became the most-watched show in NBC history.

The viewership peaked at 137.8 million during the second quarter, setting an American TV record.

Soon after that, the halftime show starring Bad Bunny averaged 128.2 million viewers in the United States in the 8:15-8:30 p.m. ET window.

The Puerto Rican superstar generated over 4 billion views on social media within the first 24 hours after his performance, making it what the NFL called its “most-consumed halftime show of all time on NFL social platforms.”

According to NBC, its streaming platform Peacock experienced its best day ever on Sunday, driven by both the Super Bowl audience and Winter Olympics viewership. Estimates were not immediately available.

“The Super Bowl and the NFL once again delivered a blockbuster audience across the NBC broadcast network, Peacock and Telemundo, and provided an unprecedented lead-in to our Primetime in Milan coverage,” NBC Sports president Rick Cordella said in a statement. “The Super Bowl and the Olympics are the two most powerful events in the world, and we salute our talented production, tech and announce teams who delivered best-in-class presentations for our viewers, stations and partners.”

–Field Level Media

Feb 5, 2026; Santa Clara, CA, USA; New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel talks to media members at the Santa Clara Marriott. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

Super Bowl LX: Patriots thinking about path to big game

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PALO ALTO, Calif. – The New England Patriots returned to Stanford Stadium for a final time on Saturday afternoon to take a team photo and spend time with their family and friends ahead of Super Bowl LX.

Quarterback Drake Maye was the first player on the field to take photos. Players wore the white jerseys and white pants they will don on Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks. A team photographer took photos of each position group in front of a backdrop before players lined up in numerical orders on the bleachers for the official Super Bowl photo.

After a couple of quick snaps, players were free to mingle with their families and friends. Assistant coaches chased toddlers around the field, while a group of older children took turns hurling themselves into a tackling dummy. Offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels pulled both Maye and receiver Stefon Diggs aside to take photos with McDaniels’ kids, who range in age from 13 to 21.

“I want them to enjoy this time with their families,” head coach Mike Vrabel said. “You can see how many people care about us and helped us get to this position, and this is all part of being able to celebrate it.”

Vrabel was planning to speak with the team later Saturday at their hotel in Santa Clara. He planned to remind players about the team’s path here, and the identity they built along the way.

“Everybody talked about getting to this point, and hoped for it to happen at the beginning of the year. Now it’s real,” Vrabel said. “That’s what I think has been pretty cool.”

The Patriots made two roster moves on Saturday, elevating defensive lineman Leonard Taylor III and running back D’Ernest Johnson off the practice squad.

–Pro Football Writers of America

Feb 5, 2026; San Jose, CA, USA; Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike MacDonald talks to media members at the San Jose Marriott. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

Super Bowl LX: Seahawks relaxed at walk-through

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SAN JOSE, Calif. – The Seahawks held a 44-minute walk-through Saturday at 12:35 p.m. PT, in their final preparation on the day before Super Bowl LX.

“We’re in great shape,” Seattle head coach Mike Macdonald said. “Guys are in good spirits. You can hear them. Finally. It’s taken a while to get here. But it’s here. It’s awesome.”

As Macdonald spoke post-practice, a group of defensive players shouted and cheered before running off the practice field for the last time before the game. Players were loose and energetic and many of them shadow-boxed with each other on the sideline, making cartoon-like sound effects to narrate each move.

“When you ask the team, [shadow-boxing] is what they’ll remember from the 2025 Seahawks, which is kind of cool,” Macdonald said.

The head coach added that he tries to avoid participating in shadow-boxing sessions. “I act like I don’t know the rules,” he said jokingly. “So then they don’t ask me to do it.”

Seattle’s day began with a team meeting, where Macdonald said he “gave props to” Seattle’s support staff, including the team’s kitchen staff.

“Then we had meetings, a walk-through, we will have a team meeting and meetings tonight, and off we go,” he said.

Seahawks players and staffers arrived at the practice facility at San Jose State 11:50 a.m. and went to the CEFCU Stadium to take their team photo.

Players took photos in groups by numerical order in their navy uniforms. Seattle coaches and staff wore white polos with the Super Bowl LX logo, posed in groups for their pictures.

Quarterback Sam Darnold, defensive tackle Leonard Williams, and a few other players took a separate photo with the team’s strength and conditioning staff.

Players then changed into their walk-through clothes — T-shirts, shorts and sneakers and headed to the field. It was sunny and 63 degrees.

Players did not wear helmets but a few wore baseball caps and sunglasses to protect from the sun.

Macdonald said he won’t bring in any special guest speakers, but he will address the team tonight himself. He knows what his message will be, but said he will keep that for just the team to know.

–Pro Football Writers of America

Feb 4, 2026; Santa Clara, CA, USA; A general overall view of Levi's Stadium, the site of Super Bowl LX between the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Super Bowl LX forecast: Warm, storm chances slim

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SANTA CLARA, Calif. — A bay-area Super Bowl week serving up sun and comfortable conditions might offer something else on game day.

Temperatures are forecast to reach 67 degrees around kickoff at 3:30 PT at Levi’s Stadium with wind gusts up to 10 mph before dying down by late in the game.

An earlier chance of storms in the evening has been reduced to almost zero percent by Weather Underground and Accuweather modeling that two days ago indicated a potential thunderstorm during the gametime window.

Timing appears to be working in the NFL’s favor in the first outdoor Super Bowl in the past five years. The previous four were played in climate-control dome settings.

Next year’s Super Bowl is scheduled to move back indoors at SoFi Stadium, home of the Los Angeles Rams and Chargers.

The league publicly considered the idea of moving the Super Bowl to Presidents Day weekend to offer some a holiday of sorts with many companies, schools and businesses closed on that Monday, what would be the day after the game. But the forecast from Weather Underground reveals the three-day plan might have been a Valentine’s weekend heartbreaker for the NFL with more than 1.5 inches of rain in the forecast next Saturday night (Feb. 14) through Monday afternoon.

–Jeff Reynolds, Field Level Media

Feb 5, 2026; San Jose, CA, USA; Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike MacDonald talks to media members at the San Jose Marriott. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

Super Bowl LX: Seahawks healthy, ready for big-game environment

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SAN JOSE, Calif. — Seattle held a 1-hour, 36-minute practice Friday that began at 12:05 p.m.

Safety Nick Emmanwori, who injured an ankle earlier in the week, joined the defensive backs in drills and participated in full. He played catch with a ball boy during break. Emmanwori has no injury designation for Sunday.

“No designation for Nick,” Macdonald said. “Turns out he’s alive.”

Fullback Robbie Ouzts is the only Seattle player with a game status designation. He was limited in practice on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday and is questionable for Sunday with a neck injury. Tackle Josh Jones was also limited in practice Friday with an ankle and knee injury. All other Seattle players listed on the injury report this week, including quarterback Sam Darnold (oblique), fully participated in Friday’s practice.

Seattle’s Friday practice was a tempo the Seahawks call ACT.

“ACT is alignment, communication and technique,” Macdonald said. “It was a normal Friday workload, all the stuff we do on Friday, so par for the course. Just gonna stick to our process.”

The first-team offense practiced with simulated crowd noise played loudly instead of music. The first-team defense also practiced with crowd noise.

“We do (crowd noise) every week,” Macdonald said. “Not sure what the noise level is going to be during the game. We try to hit all those different scenarios.”

Defensive end Leonard Willams broke down the team to finish their final Friday practice of the season. Players’ families are now in town and Macdonald said they will have the rest of the night to spend with family.

“They’ll get a chance to be with their families, which would be great and we’ll be back to work in the morning,” Macdonald said.

Seattle’s three quarterbacks stayed on the field after practice closed to work with passing game coordinator Jake Peetz.

Macdonald said Seattle will have another practice tomorrow, also at ACT tempo.

–Pro Football Writers of America

Feb 5, 2026; Santa Clara, CA, USA; New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel talks to media members at the Santa Clara Marriott. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

Super Bowl LX: Patriots try to capture usual Friday feeling at practice

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PALO ALTO, Calif. — The New England Patriots finished their on-field preparations for Super Bowl LX with a nearly 90-minute practice at Stanford Stadium.

Head coach Mike Vrabel tried to keep many of the team’s typical Friday practice traditions in place while also getting his team ready for the unique situations his team will encounter on Sunday.

To keep things normal, the Patriots finished the stretching period just before 1 p.m. to the sound of the song “Friday” by Sir Charles Jones, just as they have throughout the season during their Friday practices in Foxborough. At 1:30 p.m., players gathered in the end zone to watch eight of the team’s assistant coaches face off in four rounds of one-on-one drills. Offensive assistants Riley Larkin, who played QB at John Carroll, and Chuckie Keeton, a former college quarterback at Utah State, each caught touchdowns that led to loud cheers from the team’s offensive players. Vrabel celebrated Keeton’s catch against special teams coordinator Jeremy Springer with a demonstrative fist pump and a short dance.

These coach-vs.-coach battles have become a fun staple of Vrabel’s final practice session each week.

“It’s Friday, we’re 48 hours before the game, and that’s just how we normally operate,” Vrabel said.

But Vrabel doesn’t typically send his team off the field and into the locker room an hour into practice like he did Friday. After a special teams session, Vrabel blew his whistle at 1:52 p.m. and motioned players to leave the field. Players spent 14 minutes inside while Bad Bunny songs (among others) played over the stadium speakers.

Practice concluded with a final set of team drills for the starting offense and defense against the scout team. Vrabel gathered his team for a long final huddle, and then smaller groups of players split off for their own huddles or final individual work. Quarterback Drake Maye, tight end Hunter Henry and receiver Efton Chism III were the final players to leave the field.

“We still have time to prepare. There’s a lot of time to fine-tune things and to get themselves physically and mentally ready to play, but I also want them to be able to enjoy their time with their families and people they care about,” Vrabel said.

Linebackers Robert Spillane and Harold Landry III were both limited in Friday’s practice and are officially listed as questionable for the Super Bowl. Spillane, who is dealing with an ankle injury, did not practice on Wednesday, and Landry, who is recovering from a knee injury, missed Thursday’s practice.

“They’re doing everything they can to be ready for the football game and we’ll see how they respond from practice today,” Vrabel said.

Defensive tackle Joshua Farmer, who is on the injured reserve list with a hamstring injury but designated to return to practice, is also listed as questionable. No other players, including Maye, have an injury designation for the game vs. Seattle.

The Patriots will return to Stanford Stadium for a team picture on Saturday afternoon.

–Pro Football Writers of America

Feb 5, 2026; San Jose, CA, USA; Seattle Seahawks safety Nick Emmanwori (3) talks to media members at the San Jose Marriott. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

Super Bowl LX: Seahawks’ Nick Emmanwori (ankle) skips practice

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SAN JOSE, Calif. — The Seattle Seahawks practiced for 1 hour, 47 minutes without pads on Thursday, their second practice of Super Bowl week. It was sunny and 74 degrees when the team began with a stretch period at 2 p.m.

Rookie safety Nick Emmanwori did not participate in practice because of an ankle injury he sustained a day earlier. He was not on the field on Thursday. Head coach Mike Macdonald told reporters Thursday morning before practice that Emmanwori had a low ankle sprain and he “fully expects” him to play Sunday.

When asked what the practice plan for Emmanwori will be for Seattle’s remaining practices, Macdonald said the team would “take it day by day.”

“See how he’s feeling,” Macdonald said. “He’ll be ready to go regardless. Let’s do the smartest thing for us and him every day, and make sure we’re ready to go, We’ll evaluate it tomorrow and see how much he can do.”

Quarterback Sam Darnold was a full participant in practice for the first time since injuring his oblique on Jan. 15.

Two Seattle players were limited in practice Thursday: left tackle Charles Cross (foot) and fullback Robbie Ouzts (neck).

Ten other Seattle players on the injury report fully participated in practice: wide receiver Jake Bobo (hand), linebacker Ernest Jones IV (chest), tackle Josh Jones (ankle/knee), linebacker DeMarcus Lawrence (not injury-related — rest), safety Julian Love (shoulder), fullback Brady Russell (hand), tight end Eric Saubert (hamstring), receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (not injury-related — rest), linebacker Drake Thomas (shoulder), defensive end Leonard Williams (not injury-related — rest).

Seahawks players practiced Thursday to a high-energy classic rock playlist featuring Creed, Linkin Park and Metallica.

“I do prefer the music on Thursdays compared to Wednesdays,” Macdonald said. “Thankful to Cooper Kupp on that motion. He asked for more classic rock on Thursdays, and we obliged.”

Seattle players spent the first hour on Thursday in position-specific drills and about 45 minutes in a team period. Players looked loose, running back Velus Jones Jr. sang along to “Eye of the Tiger” and several players and coaches started dancing during a break in the team period when the song “Percolator” played.

On one third down during a team period with the first-team defense facing the scout-team offense, Williams and Lawrence turned to the sideline and raised their arms up and down, signaling for a non-existent crowd to make some noise.

“Wednesday is normally more of a work day for us,” Macdonald said. “Today is more of … energetic (than) a normal Thursday. Guys did a great job.”

NBC analysts, sideline reporters and crew attended Seattle’s practice ahead of their production meetings with the team.

Kupp broke down the team after practice. Macdonald declined to share the veteran player’s message.

“We’ll leave that with our guys, but he was great,” Macdonald said.

The Seahawks will practice again Friday afternoon.

–Pro Football Writers of America

Feb 5, 2026; Santa Clara, CA, USA; New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel talks to media members at the Santa Clara Marriott. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

Super Bowl LX: Patriots work on red-zone offense, 2-minute drill

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PALO ALTO, Calif. — As quarterback Drake Maye and the New England Patriots’ first-team offense jogged onto the field for the first of nine plays focused on red-zone situations in practice at Stanford Stadium on Thursday, the team employee in control of the playlist had a song ready to go: “Be Legendary” by Pop Evil.

The track wasn’t Mike Vrabel’s choice, but New England’s head coach did have one request for the DJ: crank the music loud. The Patriots haven’t pumped in crowd noise through the stadium speakers, but turning the volume of the music up can in part simulate the crowd noise the Patriots expect to hear when they are on offense during the Super Bowl against the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday.

“We’ll have to be ready for anything that comes up,” Vrabel said.

The Patriots spent 75 minutes running through an up-tempo practice session with a focus on the two-minute drill, red zone situations and special teams. The team will finish its on-field preparations for Super Bowl LX on Friday.

“We wanted to try to get some of those things with speed and in the red zone, the plays that we’ll have to come back to and hit again (on Friday), but those are obviously critical plays down there,” Vrabel said.

Maye was sharp during that red-zone series, as the team worked through plays from the high red zone down to the goal line. But that wasn’t the case during a sloppy two-minute drill for the offense.

“We’ll have to have better execution on Sunday, without a doubt,” Vrabel. “There’s going to be mistakes, they just can’t pile up and we can’t let one mistake turn into another mistake and another mistake. So it’s going to be about how we regroup, and I thought they did that.”

Maye was once again a full participant in practice, though he remains on the injury report because of the right shoulder ailment. Linebacker Robert Spillane returned to practice and was a limited participant after sitting out on Wednesday with an ankle injury. Linebacker Harold Landry III did not practice after he was limited on Wednesday due to a knee injury.

Other players on the Thursday injury report include starting right tackle Morgan Moses (limited, rest), backup offensive tackle Thayer Munford Jr. (limited, knee) and defensive tackle Joshua Farmer (full, hamstring).

–Pro Football Writers of America

Feb 2, 2026; San Jose, CA, USA; Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold (14) and New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (10) shake hands during Opening Night for Super Bowl LX at San Jose Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Patriots pit pup QB, prized defense against Sam Darnold, Seahawks

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SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Call it a comeback. And better make it two.

Super Bowl LX sets up as a recall of recent great teams colliding Sunday on the home field of the San Francisco 49ers.

It’s a repeat of Super Bowl XLIX in February 2015 that swung from a Seattle Seahawks celebration to a confirmation of the New England Patriots’ dynasty when Malcolm Butler intercepted Russell Wilson pass at the goal line with 20 seconds left.

“It hasn’t come up one time,” Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said of the Super Bowl rematch.

Almost everything has changed on both sidelines in the decade since that game. Neither team was even in the playoff field last season.

Patriots owner Robert Kraft called a leadership audible and restored the championship standard in New England, placing three-time Super Bowl champion Mike Vrabel atop the organization pecking order, and the new head coach guided a stunning turnaround in 2025.

Vrabel, a former linebacker under Bill Belichick, has resurrected the franchise and partnered with the second-youngest Super Bowl starting quarterback ever, 23-year-old Drake Maye, to move New England to the doorstep of a league-record seventh Lombardi Trophy.

“The organization has set a standard,” Vrabel said. “The Patriots organization, Robert and Jonathan (Kraft), have set a standard for this organization that this is what the expectation is. We understand that, we embrace that.”

Seattle shifted from Pete Carroll at the end of the 2024 season, and longtime general manager John Schneider restocked in tandem with Macdonald, 38. The second-year coach and defensive-minded mad scientist won 14 games in the 2025 regular season, earning the top seed in the NFC with reclamation project Sam Darnold starring in the vast shadow of Seattle’s sledgehammer defense.

Darnold threw 25 touchdown passes in his first season with the Seahawks. He opposes Drake Maye, the No. 3 pick in the 2024 draft, who produced numbers once expected of another famous Patriots passer with a fully stocked ring finger. Maye finished ahead of Darnold in most passing categories. He had 31 touchdown passes, 4,394 yards and a league-leading 113.5 passer rating with a pair of rookies starting on the left side of a fully revamped offensive line.

Maye has harped on running the ball, and Vrabel continues to preach balance in the long preamble to Super Bowl LX. But numbers could set up in Seattle’s favor.

The Seahawks have a streak of 28 consecutive games without allowing a 100-yard rusher and big plays are a pipe dream — only 15 plays of 20-plus yards — because of the speed and versatility of the back seven and the ability of Macdonald to generate pressure with his front four. They were stingy on first down and excelled on third down, when the crosshairs are largely centered on the pocket.

New England had allowed Maye to be sacked 15 times in the playoffs.

“We’ve got to stay connected,” Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels said. “It’s kind of like synchronized swimming. If one of them is different than the other, you usually have a bad play. We’re going to be put to the test. They will twist and stunt, a really violent team.”

Seahawks defensive tackle Leonard Williams is a terror inside, and six Seattle defenders have at least 40 QB pressures. Williams leads the team with 65 followed by DeMarcus Lawrence with 58. While Seattle’s dynamic personnel and playmaking mix is getting headlines, the Seahawks were far from flawless in 2025. They allowed 27 points to the Rams in the NFC Championship Game and needed an offensive explosion to edge the same team 38-37 in the regular season.

McDaniels said he’s not afraid of leaning on his young players. He recalled being in the press box as an assistant coach in the 2001 season when a young Tom Brady made his Super Bowl debut and beat the St. Louis Rams.

“That was a great example of a young player being put in a situation where (coaches) could have let the game go to overtime,” Daniels said. “Those are the types of situations players live for. Drake has had to deal with those types of circumstances this season, and we’ve only gotten his best football.”

Maye registered 11 multiple-TD games in the 2025 regular season. He has taken only one loss since Sept. 21, compiling a 16-1 record since then. Maye leads the Darnold, 29, in career postseason wins, and their combined five playoff victories were all collected last month.

Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba led the league with 1,793 passing yards and was the target of 163 of Darnold’s 477 passes in the regular season. He logged 119 receptions and 10 touchdowns. Smith-Njigba had 10 catches for 153 yards and a touchdown in the NFC Championship Game. On film, Vrabel is still hunting for a major weakness.

“Sudden, savvy, competitive,” Vrabel said. “Really good play strength for his stature. He’s really good at contested catches. Good route craft and understanding in zone and man. Great body control.”

Maye insisted Wednesday his shoulder was fine after being limited last week. He was in Levi’s Stadium the last time it hosted the Super Bowl — February 2016, when the Denver Broncos beat the Carolina Panthers — and the Patriots played at San Francisco last season. He said the preparation for the Super Bowl is mostly a normal week with a bonus hotel stay and practice at a foreign facility. Ah, youngsters.

“It’s such a cool moment to be out here with the guys and the teammates,” Maye said. “A chance to enjoy the moment together. The emotions will be a little bit higher on game day.”

Vrabel’s Super Bowl experience has been a common talking point in the Patriots’ makeshift camp at the San Jose Marriott and Stanford University this week. Veteran defensive players such as cornerback Carlton Davis III (Tom Brady’s teammate for Tampa Bay’s Super Bowl win to cap the 2020 season) and defensive tackle Milton Williams (a winner with the Eagles 12 months ago) are helping keep younger players and newbies like 32-year-old wide receiver Stefon Diggs from emotional exhaustion with all of the pomp and circumstance on the Super Bowl periphery this week.

“His maturation process is second to none. One of the best I’ve ever seen from a quarterback position,” Diggs said of Maye’s calm. “He’s still super young, which is crazy. He’s had a lot of success, but as I have grown closer to him, I’m a huge fan of him. He’s like a mini inspiration. To be that young, be that mature and be able to play at a high level is something that I always wanted when I was a young player. I’m just happy to be a part of this thing.”

As expected with another defense-first head coach, Seattle also stresses the running game. Kenneth Walker III led the team with 1,027 rushing yards in the regular season, and he has added 178 yards and four touchdowns in two playoff games.

For the Patriots, Rhamondre Stevenson was second to rookie speedster TreVeyon Henderson in rushing in the regular season, but Stevenson climbed out of Vrabel’s doghouse — where he landed due to three fumbles — to lead the NFL in rushing in the playoffs with 194 yards on 51 carries.

“We’re always looking to find balance in our offense because you become more difficult to defend if the defense has to defend run-pass on every series in every situation,” McDaniels said.

The Patriots finished the season sixth in the NFL in rushing with 128.9 yards per game after ranking 31st the first month of the season. Maye has been a problem for front sevens in the playoffs because of his mobility. Seattle can use rookie safety Nick Emmanwori as a spy to keep Maye’s speed in check, but the Patriots know there are counters to that kind of chess move.

“There are weak spots in every coverage,” Maye said.

New England’s interior defensive line tandem of Milton Williams and Christian Barmore, self-described QB predators, present a hurdle for Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak finding a comfort zone for Darnold. Seattle rookie left guard Grey Zabel will be vital in making the mission possible.

“Me and him, we come in hungry. We’re like lions. We come to hunt,” Barmore said. “And the whole D-line. Our goal is to dominate every time we’re out there. It doesn’t matter who it is, another day to line up and kick ass.”

Darnold signed a three-year, $100.5 million deal with the Seahawks last March. He hasn’t played for the same team or play-caller since 2022, his second year with the Carolina Panthers, when Baker Mayfield was named the starter. Darnold, the third pick in the 2018 draft, is on his fifth team but playing his finest football. However, he led all quarterbacks in turnovers — six fumbles lost, 14 interceptions — opening the door to doubts about his performance this week.

Darnold said his oblique strain, an issue that crept up before the divisional playoffs, is vastly improved with the two-week break between conference title games and the Super Bowl. He said he is not in the mindset of proving anyone wrong by winning Sunday.

“All of the hard work and dedication leads to this moment,” Darnold said.

–Jeff Reynolds, Field Level Media