Mike Vrabel Had Simple Response to Patriots Being Underdogs In the Super Bowl

The Seahawks enter Super Bowl week as the favorites to win the big game over the Patriots, who are 4.5 point underdogs according to the odds.
Being the underdog is a common motivational tactic for teams to take advantage of, particularly when playing in as important a game as the Super Bowl, but Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel isn’t that incensed by the odds.
Vrabel said of the Patriots being underdogs at Super Bowl LX Opening Night, “Well, somebody has to.”
“I don’t think we dislike it,” Vrabel added. “That’s not anything that’s ever affected us. I don’t think we set out to necessarily worry about those types of things. I’m excited to be here with this football team.”
Mike Vrabel talks about the Patriots being looked at as the underdogs in Super Bowl LX 👀 pic.twitter.com/SHraJV7aPt
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) February 3, 2026
Both the Patriots and Seahawks have earned their way to the Super Bowl, but it’s not hard to see why Seattle is favored. The Seahawks have taken a harder path to reach the big game, from winning the tough NFC West, the No. 1 seed, dominating the 49ers in the divisional round and taking down the Rams in the NFC championship game.
The Patriots, meanwhile, had the so-called “easier” route after taking down a Chargers team with a weak offensive line, a Texans squad that saw C.J. Stroud forgetting to take care of the football and a Broncos team without their starting quarterback. Their offense also hasn’t been stellar in the postseason, though they have faced three great defenses.
New England of course deserves credit for managing these games and situations properly, as well as how strong their defense has come on, but they haven’t been battle-tested the way the Seahawks have over the season.
Ultimately, the odds will matter little if the Patriots can play their best on Sunday and win the game to take home their seventh Lombardi trophy.
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Eva Geitheim is a contributor to the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Prior to joining SI in December 2024, she wrote for Newsweek, Gymnastics Now and Dodgers Nation. A Bay Area native, she has a bachelor's in communications from UCLA. When not writing, she can be found baking or re-watching Gilmore Girls.