The Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots will meet on Sunday for Super Bowl LX. The outcome of Sunday’s matchup will likely hinge on a few plays. From Seattle’s elite defense to the rise of MVP candidate Drake Maye, there are certain to be game-changing plays that determine who walks away victorious.

Whichever team takes advantage of these keys to victory will leave Santa Clara with the Lombardi Trophy.

Seahawks: Make Drake Maye uncomfortable

Patriots quarterback Drake Maye will be the x-factor of the game. While just in his second season, Maye has taken the NFL by storm and solidified himself as one of the league’s premier passers. For the Seahawks, a major key will be not letting the MVP candidate get comfortable.

Seattle’s head coach, Mike Macdonald, has turned things around for the Seahawks defense, with the NFC West champs boasting the best defense in 2025. Despite not having a defender with double-digit sacks, the Seahawks had the seventh-most sacks in 2025. Their sack numbers are more impressive when noting they blitz on just 21.7% of downs.

Led by defensive end Leonard Williams, four Seattle defenders tallied 6+ sacks during the regular season, with 10 players logging multiple.

Fortunately for the Seahawks, they’ll be facing a Patriots offensive line that has struggled through the playoffs. Maye has been sacked 15 times over his three playoff games, getting taken down five times each matchup.

Sacks haven’t come easily for the Seattle defense in the playoffs, however. The Seahawks have logged just three sacks in two playoff games, getting two against the San Francisco 49ers and one against the Los Angeles Rams.

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If Seattle wants to bring home their second Lombardi Trophy, it’ll have to put the runner-up MVP in tough positions.

Patriots: Establish the run

The best way to counter Seattle’s ferocious pass rush is a strong run game.

The Patriots’ offense posted the sixth-best run game in 2025, averaging 128.9 yards per outing. Despite not having a 1,000-yard runner, New England has a dual-back system that has paid off. Rhamondre Stevenson is a ground-and-pound bruiser, while TreVeyon Henderson is a big play waiting to happen.

It won’t be easy for the Patriots’ running backs. Stevenson and Henderson are each averaging less than four yards per carry in the playoffs, and they’ll be facing the best run defense in 2025. Seattle allowed just 3.7 yards per carry during the regular season.

New England’s inability to run the football in January can be credited to the elite defenses it has faced. They’ve challenged three top-8 run defenses already, including the Denver Broncos and Houston Texans, each ranking top-4.

The Seahawks will do everything to disrupt Maye, and the Patriots can’t allow their offense to become one-dimensional.

Seahawks: Capitalize in the red zone

Despite having the third-most points per game in 2025, the Seahawks had a bottom-10 touchdown rate in the red zone (54.2%).

While they have turned it around in the playoffs, scoring touchdowns on 72.7% of their red zone trips, they’ll have to keep it consistent against the Patriots.

Lucky for Seattle, New England had the third-worst red zone defense in 2025, allowing a 67.5% touchdown rate. They, too, have stepped up their game in the playoffs, however, allowing just 33.3%.

Before a career resurrection, Sam Darnold was known to struggle processing the field in the red zone. This has followed him throughout the 2025 season, but he has been sharp in the playoffs, throwing all four of his touchdowns in the red area.

If the game becomes grindy, the Seahawks will have to take advantage of their time in the red zone and convert against a struggling Patriots defense.

Patriots: Limit turnovers

You don’t have to be an expert to know that not turning the ball over is a winning formula, and the Patriots will have to be extra careful against a stingy Seahawks defense.

The Seattle defense forced the sixth-most turnovers in 2025, snagging 18 interceptions and forcing 7 fumbles. New England, on the other hand, has protected the ball well. In 2025, the Patriots turned the ball over a league-low 16 times.

Maye has already turned the ball over three times in the playoffs. While one can be excused as a Hail Mary attempt, the others came from problems in the pocket. With how vicious the Seahawks have been rushing the passer, Maye’s recent struggles become a concern.

Paired with Maye’s playoff turnovers, running back Rhamondre Stevenson has had a fumble problem since entering the league. Stevenson has fumbled 17 times in his five-year career, losing nine. His fumble problems even caused him to be benched earlier in the regular season after losing three in three weeks.

Seattle has already forced five fumbles and an interception in two playoff games. If the Patriots want any chance at taking home the Lombardi, they can’t allow those same mistakes.

Seahawks: Get Kenneth Walker III going

Darnold has done more than he’s been asked after signing his three-year $100.5m contract with the Seahawks, but if they want to win on Sunday, it likely won’t be off the arm of the veteran quarterback.

Seattle has cruised to the one seed with the combination of their elite defense and their 7th-ranked rushing offense. While Darnold has been serviceable, throwing 24 touchdowns, he’s been prone to mistakes. To limit the possibility for Darnold to turn the ball over, the Seahawks will have to get Kenneth Walker III established.

Walker posted his second 1,000-yard rushing season in 2025 despite split carries with Zach Charbonnet. With Charbonnet now out for the season after suffering a torn ACL against the 49ers, it’s all up to Walker.

The former second-round pick has overperformed in the playoffs, rushing for 178 yards and 4 touchdowns on 4.68 yards per carry.

But the Patriots have boasted the best run defense throughout the playoffs, allowing just 71.3 yards per game and no scores. With Charbonnet out of the picture, it’s all up to the Seahawks to get Walker established as a runner, or Darnold will have to outduel Maye, and I don’t like his chances.

Patriots: Limit Rashid Shaheed’s impact on special teams

There’s nothing more demoralizing in sports than being forced to punt, and the opposing team taking it to the house.

When Seattle traded for Shaheed at the deadline, it was a match made in heaven. Sure, he’s a solid deep threat on offense, but what he offers as a player goes beyond offense.

Shaheed has solidified himself as one of the top return specialists in the league. He took the first kickoff of the playoffs in for a touchdown, and Seattle wouldn’t have needed to score anymore to win that game.

The elite returner has now logged three special teams touchdowns since joining the Seahawks, with two kickoffs returned and one punt. He is a game-changer that, if not game-planned for, can kill all shots at winning. New England may have a better chance at kicking out of bounds than giving Shaheed a chance.