MIAMI — It only required two seasons of wandering through the wilderness, two years of being irrelevant while the franchises reset.

That’s the timeline it took for the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks to rebuild their franchises, which have coincidentally — or not — played in the 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005 (Seattle lost), 2007, ...Read more

A few weeks ago, right as the Seahawks were beginning their playoff run to the Super Bowl, coach Mike Macdonald noted that one way he eases anxiety is to remember all that he has to be grateful.

“Just count your blessings, he said.

Applied to football, Macdonald said when he’s worried about how the Seahawks might defend an opposing offense...Read more

Patriots quarterback Drake Maye is following in the footsteps of Tom Brady, far beyond just the football field.

Maye has taken over the reins from Brady as an ambassador for Best Buddies, an international organization that supports countless individuals with intellectual disabilities across New England.

This spring will mark Maye’s third ...Read more

I love the Super Bowl.

I absolutely love it.

I love everything about it: The overdone commercials. The over-the-top halftime shows. The overhyped game.

I love the Super Bowl not in spite of its excess, but because of it.

Because for one strange, glorious, guacamole-soaked, chicken wing–stained, beer-drenched Sunday evening every year, ...Read more

BOSTON — How did Mike Smith get here?

Alone in a wooden cabin atop a remote mountain in Utah, hundreds of miles from home, sitting in the overnight dark. Days of solitude lay ahead of him, questions lingered behind.

Was it his fall in Green Bay?

That crash landing weeks before he worked Packers training camp in 2021, when he was one saw cut...Read more

NEW YORK — Another member of the Ryan family will join the Jets' coaching staff.

The Jets have hired Seth Ryan to be their new passing game coordinator. a source told the New York Daily News. He replaces Scott Turner, who was fired two weeks ago after coach Aaron Glenn revamped his coaching staff.

Ryan, 31, is the son of Rex, the Jets’ ...Read more

It’s not like coming back home is anything novel for Austin Hooper, who still visits De La Salle’s campus in the summer to train with his high school alma mater after 10 years in the NFL. And this isn’t his first Super Bowl, either.

But both? At the same time?

“That’s what makes this one that much more special,” the New England ...Read more

NEW YORK — Former New York Jets linebacker Darron Lee has been arrested and charged in the murder of his girlfriend, who was found brutalized at a home in Tennessee on Thursday before succumbing to her injuries.

The ex-NFL star, 31, is facing charges of first-degree murder and tampering with evidence, the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office ...Read more

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Receiver Cooper Kupp and linebacker Ernest Jones IV have been on this stage.

So has running back Cam Akers.

All three started for the Rams four years ago in a Super Bowl LVI victory over the Cincinnati Bengals at SoFi Stadium.

All eventually were released or traded by the Rams and wound up with the Seattle Seahawks, ...Read more

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Neither team began the season among the favorites to reach the Super Bowl.

The Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots both were regarded as long shots.

But not by their coaches and players.

On Sunday, the Seahawks and Patriots will play in Super Bowl LX at Levi's Stadium.

After the Seahawks defeated the Rams in...Read more

LAS VEGAS — I was there. Witnessed it first hand.

And even after all these years, I still can’t believe the Seattle Seahawks chose to throw the ball instead of run it.

But they did.

And for it, the New England Patriots owned a fourth Lombardi Trophy.

Seattle and New England meet Sunday in Super Bowl LX. The last time we saw these teams ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — The Worst Super Bowl Predictor In America is on a hot streak.

I got one right.

Last year, remember? How could I let you forget?

As the Philadelphia Eagles were in the process of demolishing the favored Kansas City Chiefs by 18 points, I was screaming in front of the stunned and somewhat embarrassed faces of those sitting ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — Long before Sam Howell became best friends with Drake Maye, he was aware of him. Maye’s parents were standout high school athletes, and his father, Mark, played quarterback at the University of North Carolina. His brothers, Luke and Beau, played basketball there (Luke hit a last-second shot that sent the Tar Heels to the Final...Read more

There is no Tom Brady, no Bill Belichick and certainly no Malcolm Butler.

Darrelle Revis won't be lining up at corner. Gronk won't be catching any passes.

But this is still the Patriots — the team responsible for what might be the most painful moment in Seattle sports history. And though the chance for redemption in the Super Bowl might not ...Read more

SAN JOSE, Calif. — If there is one player who embodies the Seahawks' where did that come from?" vibe this year, it's a receiver who wears No. 11.

If there is one athlete who encapsulates the Seahawks' one-year ascent from respectable to incredible, it's the Ohio State product from Texas.

It was fair to wonder just how productive Jaxon Smith-...Read more

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — USC owns a long history in the Super Bowl.

Going into this year, according to the school, 120 former Trojans were on Super Bowl rosters, with 48 winning one or more titles.

Receiver Lynn Swann, running back Marcus Allen and linebacker Malcolm Smith were Super Bowl most valuable players.

"We've got our fingerprints all ...Read more

SAN FRANCISCO — Rome Odunze isn’t rooting for the Seahawks to win the Super Bowl. To be fair, he isn’t supporting the New England Patriots either.

Odunze is excited for the city of Seattle to experience more sporting success after getting a firsthand experience during his time as a consensus All-American wide receiver at Washington.

“I...Read more

NEW YORK — Sam Darnold entered the NFL in 2018 as one of the more gifted quarterbacks of his draft class.

But he quickly learned that a quarterback’s environment is arguably the most critical factor in their development and long-term success.

Despite his hardships and playing for his fifth team in eight seasons, Darnold, 28, finally has a ...Read more

LAS VEGAS — Tails never fails.

That’s the mantra of some Super Bowl coin toss prop bettors who cashed tickets on tails in last year’s NFL title game and in eight of the last 12 Super Bowls. The coin toss has come up tails in 31 of 59 Super Bowls overall.

“A 31-28 split is exactly what randomness predicts,” Tim Chartier, an applied ...Read more