Panel Overwhelmingly Picks Seahawks Over Patriots In Super Bowl LX

Mike Vrabel may need to find more space on the bulletin board before the New England Patriots march onto the Levi’s Stadium field for a Super Bowl LX tilt against the Seattle Seahawks.

Most analysts have picked the NFC champions to prevail on Sunday. A whopping 48 of 58 ESPN experts chose the Seahawks to capture the Lombardi Trophy, and the Patriots didn’t fare much better in another national panel.

The Athletic asked 45 staffers to predict a winner for the Super Bowl, and 35 picked Seattle.

Also of note, nine of 10 Patriots supporters prognosticated a victory of four points or fewer. Gabby Thibault gave the most emphatic endorsement, predicting a 24-13 win for New England.

Meanwhile, 15 writers picked a double-digit Seahawks triumph. Vic Tafur, a San Francisco 49ers beat writer who witnessed Seattle’s 41-6 stampede in the second round, went as far as to predict a 26-0 shutout.

“The Patriots have no answer for the Seahawks’ defensive line, which works together so well, or their disguises, and Drake Maye has his fourth horrible playoff start in a row,” Tafur predicted. “Their schedule and playoff path here really was historically easy. For the Seahawks, Sam Darnold doesn’t throw up all over his cleats and Kenneth Walker III is the MVP.”

The Patriots haven’t shied away from their underdog role. Throw in Drake Maye getting snubbed for MVP, and Mike Vrabel has all the ammunition in the world to motivate his players ahead of Super Bowl LX, which starts at 6:30 p.m. ET on NBC.