The NFL playoffs, some of the most viewed sports events of all time, consist of fourteen high-caliber teams throughout eight divisions. The Super Bowl is the yearly league championship game of the National Football League, a highly competitive game that every team wants to make, but only two elite teams can make it per year. 

This year, the National Football Conference (NFC) was slightly more competitive than the American Football Conference (AFC), with teams like the Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks taking over. But on the AFC side, the New England Patriots and Denver Broncos were both unstoppable teams. 

The Seahawks, Rams, Broncos, and Patriots all have the best records in the NFL, and all advanced to the conference championship games. The AFC Championship Game consisted of the Patriots and Broncos, and on the NFC side, the Seahawks and Rams. 

The Broncos held the number one seed in the AFC, facing off against the two-seeded Patriots. On Sunday afternoon the Patriots outlasted the Broncos in a thriller, winning 10-7, led by MVP candidate Drake Maye.

On the other hand, the one-seed Seahawks and five-seed Rams faced off. The Rams are also led by MVP candidate Matthew Stafford, who had a record-breaking season, but unfortunately fell short to the Seahawks 27-31.

The Super Bowl will take place at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, on February 8th and will be a game nobody will want to miss. This game is a rematch of Super Bowl 49, a game that will live in every Patriots fan’s memories for their lifetime. 

I asked a few students their takes and picks for the Super Bowl. Flynn Deady, a Junior at HHS, describes, “I believe that the Patriots will smoke the Seahawks because Drake Maye is playing the best football we have seen in a while.” 

Dom Lieto, also a Junior at HHS, explains, “I think that this game is gonna be a close one, but I think that the Patriots are a good enough team to take the victory for the 7th time in franchise history.” 

This Super Bowl is not just a game for both teams; for the Seahawks, February 8th offers a chance to finally get back at their revenge after the historic ending of the goal-line interception by ex-Patriots star cornerback Malcom Butler during Super Bowl 49. But for the Patriots, this means something special, proving that the “Patriot Way” didn’t leave when Tom Brady retired but has instead been reborn with the grit of Drake Maye and Mike Vrabel.