Interesting Stats and Ways History Can be Made in Super Bowl LX

We still have more than a week left to dive deep into the upcoming Super Bowl LX matchup between the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots. 

But first, let's take a somewhat broader view at the statistical trends and milestones that could or will impact this Super Bowl on the field and/or in the history books. 

Here are the figures that stand out ahead of the 11th-ever Super Bowl rematch.

New England Becomes the GOAT

AP Photo/Charles Krupa

Mike Vrabel

7: If the Patriots win, they'll become the first-ever franchise with seven Super Bowl wins, surpassing the Pittsburgh Steelers. 

41: A New England win would also be the franchise's 41st playoff victory. The Pats would move ahead of the San Francisco 49ers to become the first team with more than 40 all-time postseason wins. Their playoff win percentage (.645) is already by far the best ever, easily topping San Francisco (.606). 

12: Regardless, this is New England's 12th Super Bowl appearance. They will have participated in 20 percent of all the Super Bowls ever played. Nobody else has more than eight Super Bowl appearances.

Seattle: Pushing to Be the NFC Team of the 21st Century?

AP Photo/John Froschauer

Mike Macdonald

4: This will be Seattle's fourth Super Bowl appearance since the turn of the century, tying the Philadelphia Eagles for the most from the NFC. With a win, they would join Philly, the New York Giants and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as the only four NFC teams with multiple Super Bowl wins since 2000 (two each). 

3: Seattle becomes just the second franchise this century to make the Super Bowl with three different quarterback-head coach combinations. They did it with Matt Hasselbeck and Mike Holmgren in Super Bowl XL, Russell Wilson and Pete Carroll in Super Bowls XLVIII and XLIX, and now with Sam Darnold and Mike Macdonald. 

6: With a win, the Seahawks would hand the Patriots their sixth Super Bowl defeat, giving New England the most losses in Super Bowl history at 6-6 overall and 3-4 in Super Bowls since 2007.

Defense Wins Championships?

AP Photo/Ashley Landis

Christian Elliss

9: In their last five games, the Patriots have surrendered just 9 points per outing. In their last five games excluding two against the Rams, the Seahawks have surrendered just 9 points per outing. 

15: Yes, the Rams count. But overall in eight games each since Thanksgiving, both the Seahawks (13.5) and Patriots (15.0) have surrendered 15 or fewer points per outing. Only the Vikings are in the same club, albeit with much softer competition and no playoff games. 

27: That's the average number of total points scored in Patriots playoff games during this run. They've averaged just 18.0 points per game, which is the lowest for a Super Bowl team since 1979. But they've allowed just 26 points, which is the second-lowest total for a three-game Super Bowl run of all time (behind only the 2000 Ravens, who gave up 23 in all four of their games). So, take the under?

Patriots Quarterback and Coach Shoutouts

AP Photo/Bart Young

Drake Maye

23: That's the age (23 and 162 days as of next Sunday) of Patriots quarterback Drake Maye, who is the second-youngest starting quarterback in Super Bowl history. Only Dan Marino (23 years, 127 days) has him beat, but his Miami Dolphins team was smoked by the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XIX. Maye can beat out Ben Roethlisberger (23 years, 340 days) to become the youngest starter to win a ring. 

5: Mike Vrabel can become the first person in history to win multiple Super Bowls as a player and at least one Super Bowl as a head coach. A Patriots victory would make him the fifth person to get at least one ring as a player and one as a head coach (joining Tom Flores, Mike Ditka, Tony Dungy and Doug Pederson), but all four of those guys won just once as players. He would also be the first to win the Vince Lombardi Trophy as a player and head coach for the same team. 

Seahawks Quarterback and Coach Shoutouts

AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson

Sam Darnold and Mike Macdonald

5: Sam Darnold has played for five different NFL teams. He's just the third quarterback to start a Super Bowl for his fifth (or more-than-fifth) franchise. If he wins, he'd become the first-ever starting quarterback to win a ring with his fifth team. Earl Morrall was on his fifth team when he started for the Colts in Super Bowl III and Chris Chandler was on his sixth when he started for the Falcons in Super Bowl XXXIII. Both lost. 

0: Fourth-quarter points allowed by Mike Macdonald-coached defenses in five playoff games as defensive coordinator in Baltimore and head coach in Seattle. The only points scored by an opponent in the fourth quarter of those games came on a defensive touchdown in Macdonald's first playoff game as a coordinator back in 2022. 

Three Quick-Hit Threes

AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson

Cooper Kupp

3: Super Bowl winners on the Seahawks roster (all three—Cooper Kupp, Ernest Jones IV and Cam Akers—won with the Los Angeles Rams four years ago).

3: Super Bowl winners on the Patriots roster (none of the three—Carlton Davis III, Mack Hollins and Milton Williams—won with the Pats). 

3: The Seahawks face becoming the 11th team to lose three-plus Super Bowls, rather than the 17th with multiple Super Bowl wins. A defeat would give them the worst Super Bowl winning percentage (.250) among the 20 franchises that have at least one Lombardi Trophy.