Major Super Bowl Trend Points to Seahawks as Champions

The Seattle Seahawks heavily relied on defense to win Super Bowl XLVIII at the end of the 2013-14 season — earning the first NFL title in franchise history.

In Super Bowl LX, the Seahawks will once again lean on their league-best defense to try to secure their second Lombardi Trophy. Seattle has given up just 9.7 points per game since Week 12 to teams not named the Los Angeles Rams (32 points per game allowed in two meetings with NFC West rival).

But there's another key Super Bowl trend that is leaning in the Seahawks' favor against the New England Patriots: Seattle's ability to take the ball away from opposing offenses.

Since the first Super Bowl in 1967, 57 of the 59 champions have finished the regular season with 23 or more takeaways. The Seahawks had 25 this season, while the Patriots only had 19. Seattle ranked sixth league-wide, and the Patriots were 20th.

WILD STAT: 57 of 59 Super Bowl winning teams have finished the regular season with 23+ takeaways

The Seahawks had 25 takeaways this season while the Patriots had 19 pic.twitter.com/w7qK7Jd8T1
— BetMGM 🦁 (@BetMGM) January 27, 2026

In a vacuum, these stats don't matter much. However, turnovers in any football game are a killer, and momentum can swing rapidly in the Super Bowl. A team that can consistently take the ball away generally wins games unless its offense is completely incapable of putting points on the board.

The 2013 Seahawks defense forced 38 turnovers during the regular season and took the ball away from the Denver Broncos four times in the Super Bowl.

New England's defense this season is still a quality unit despite its low takeaway numbers. The Patriots allowed 295.2 yards per game (8th) and just 18.8 points per game (4th).

Both those figures were below the Seahawks' averages of 285.6 yards (6th) and 17.2 points (1st), but it's still a formidable Patriots defensive squad.

It will likely be a defensive showdown, and whichever offense can manage just a few more points will come out on top. The Patriots and Seahawks' offenses were very similar in output during the regular season, but Seattle has been much hotter in the playoffs (yes, even factoring in the snowstorm during the AFC Championship).

Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold will need to back up his career day in the NFC Championship to carry the offense, and the Super Bowl title likely relies on it.

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