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Patriots open as underdogs against Seahawks in Super Bowl LX predictions
The Patriots are viewed as underdogs across multiple sportsbooks after the Seahawks also punched their ticket to Super Bowl LX.
For the first time this postseason, the New England Patriots are going into a playoff matchup as an underdog.
New England is set to battle the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl LX, with the Patriots and Seahawks both punching their ticket to the big game on Sunday after beating the Broncos and Rams, respectively, in the AFC and NFC conference championship games.
There’s still two weeks to go until Super Bowl LX kicks off from Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, but Seattle is opening as a slight favorite across several sportsbooks as of Sunday night.
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Here’s a look at the current odds, as of early Monday morning:
- DraftKings Sportsbook: Seahawks -4.5 | 46.5
- FanDuel Sportsbook: Seahawks -4.5 | 46.5
- BetMGM Sportsbook: Seahawks -5 | 46.5
This will stand as the second meeting between the Patriots and Seahawks in the Super Bowl — as Tom Brady overcame Seattle’s “Legion of Boom” defense in an instant classic in Super Bowl XLIX.
New England entered the postseason as the No. 2 seed in the AFC with a 14-3 record, but the Patriots haven’t always been a popular pick across sportsbooks this season — especially against other top teams teams across the NFL landscape.
Some of that might be a byproduct of New England’s weaker schedule in the regular season, or the lackluster offensive production generated by Drake Maye and the Patriots offense in the playoffs (18.0 points per game).
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New England’s defense has also dominated, allowing just 26 total points over those three games.
But critics have also discredited the Patriots’ defense as being benefactors of several fortunate bounces — be it CJ Stoud’s implosion (four interceptions) in the AFC divisional round, or Denver rolling out backup QB Jarrett Stidham on Sunday in the AFC title game.
Still, New England’s defense has easily handled the competition put in front of it for weeks now, while Maye and Co. have done enough to post wins over three opponents in the Chargers, Texans, and Broncos who all ranked in the top-five in total defense this season.
The Patriots will likely embrace the role of underdog over the next few weeks as they brace for another tough test on Feb. 8 against the Seahawks.
“We’ve got a lot of guys who have been counted out,” Milton Williams said after Sunday’s win. “Nobody really believed in us and what we could do. They’re probably going to say it’s just how they [Broncos] played, we ain’t do nothing, it’s what they did. We’ve got one more game to go out there and take care of business and see if we get some credit then.”
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