When you think about Super Bowl pedigree, the Patriots and Seahawks are two franchises that immediately come to mind. New England has practically lived in the Super Bowl spotlight-12 appearances since the game’s inception, which accounts for a staggering 20% of all Super Bowls ever played.
Seattle doesn’t boast quite the same resume, but don’t sleep on the ‘Hawks-they’re about to play in their fourth Super Bowl since 2005, and this one carries a little extra weight. It’s a chance to settle an old score, 11 years after that infamous goal-line interception that still haunts Seahawks fans.
But what makes this year's matchup in Super Bowl 60 especially compelling isn’t just the history-it’s the journey both teams took to get here.
This is only the sixth time in Super Bowl history that both teams missed the playoffs the year before. The Seahawks came close in 2023 and 2024, just falling short of the postseason cut.
The Patriots, meanwhile, haven’t seen playoff action since 2021, back when Bill Belichick was still on the sidelines. That’s a notable drought for a team that once made January football feel like a birthright.
The last time we saw a Super Bowl featuring two teams that had been on the outside looking in the year prior? That was Super Bowl 38, when the Patriots edged out the Panthers in a 32-29 nail-biter. That New England squad had missed the playoffs the year after winning their first Super Bowl, while Carolina had stumbled to a 7-9 record the season before their run.
And if you dig a little deeper into the history books, you’ll find just a handful of other examples where both Super Bowl participants had sat out the previous postseason. There was Super Bowl 35, where the Ravens dominated the Giants.
The season before that, the Rams and Titans gave us a classic that ended one yard short of overtime. Go back further and you'll find the 49ers beating the Bengals for their first title in 1981, and of course, the legendary Joe Namath "guarantee" game in 1969, when the Jets shocked the Colts.
So no, this year’s Seahawks-Patriots clash probably wasn’t on many people’s radar back in August. In most years, a matchup like this would’ve been a trendy preseason Super Bowl pick-especially during the height of the Brady vs.
Legion of Boom era. But this time, both teams had to claw their way back into contention, navigating rebuilds, retools, and plenty of doubters along the way.
Now, they’re back on the sport’s biggest stage, each with something to prove. For Seattle, it’s about redemption and reclaiming a spot among the league’s elite. For New England, it’s about reminding the football world that the dynasty may be gone, but the standard hasn’t changed.
Super Bowl 60 isn’t just a battle between two storied franchises-it’s a testament to resilience, reinvention, and the idea that no matter where you were last season, the road to glory is always open.