Seahawks win thriller to face Patriots in Super Bowl 60
The Patriots have won the Super Bowl six times - a record they share with the Pittsburgh Steelers [Getty Images]The Seattle Seahawks will face the New England Patriots in Super Bowl 60 after claiming a thrilling victory over the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday.
The NFC Championship game was a shootout in Seattle, with Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold and Rams counterpart Matt Stafford both throwing three touchdown passes before the hosts held on for a 31-27 win.
Meanwhile, defences dominated the AFC Championship game as the Patriots ground out a 10-7 win in a blizzard at the Denver Broncos.
Quarterback Drake Maye, Stafford's main rival for this season's Most Valuable Player award, ran in New England's only touchdown as they secured a record-extending 12th Super Bowl appearance and their first since Tom Brady led the franchise to its sixth NFL championship in 2019.
This year's NFL title decider will be a rematch of 2015, when the Patriots beat the Seahawks 28-24 to deny them back-to-back Super Bowl wins.
This is the fourth time Seattle have reached the NFL showpiece, with their solitary championship coming in 2014.
Super Bowl 60 takes places on Sunday, 8 February in Santa Clara, California, at the home of the San Francisco 49ers.
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Drake Maye is the leading rival to Rams quarterback Matt Stafford for this season's Most Valuable Player award [Getty Images]New England may have won six Super Bowls, sharing the NFL record with the Pittsburgh Steelers, but they had to rebuild after Brady joined Tampa Bay in 2020 and legendary coach Bill Belichick left after a 4-13 record during the 2023 season.
Less than two hours after another 4-13 season ended last January, owner Robert Kraft made the bold decision to fire Jerod Mayo before letting Mike Vrabel bring in his own coaching staff.
That decision has paid off immediately. Little was expected of the Patriots as they headed into the season but they improved to 14-3, with that 10-win swing tied for the biggest turnaround in NFL history.
Denver also went 14-3 this season and secured the NFC's top seed but had to give back-up quarterback Jarrett Stidham his first start in two years after Bo Nix suffered a broken ankle in last week's Divisional Round win over Buffalo.
And although he threw a touchdown pass to Courtland Sutton in the first quarter, two Stidham turnovers proved decisive, while Maye again showed maturity beyond his years.
Denver's defence led the league for sacks this season and although they sacked Maye five times, he made some key plays with his legs.
The 23-year-old scrambled out of the pocket to earn some crucial first downs and scored the Patriots' only touchdown after Stidham fumbled right in front of the Broncos' end zone.
Maye then kept a New England drive going for more than nine minutes in the third quarter, resulting in what proved to be the game's decisive score from kicker Andy Borregales.
In just half a quarter, the entire field was covered in snow, and Denver's Wil Lutz missed a 45-yard field goal before Stidham's desperate deep shot was intercepted by Patriots cornerback Christian Gonzalez with just over two minutes left.
That gave New England the chance to secure a 12th Super Bowl appearance and become the first team to reach the Super Bowl after 13 losses in the previous season.
And having won three Super Bowls as a linebacker with New England, 50-year-old Vrabel could now become the first man to become an NFL champion as a player and a head coach with the same team.
Christian Gonzalez made a late interception that helped New England close out the game in the fourth quarter [Getty Images]