After edging the Denver Broncos 10-7 in the AFC Championship Game on Sunday, the New England Patriots are Super Bowl-bound.
Again.
This marks the 10th Super Bowl appearance for the Patriots in the last 25 seasons and their 12th in franchise history. New England has won six championships so far, all with Tom Brady and Bill Belichick.
If the Patriots get their seventh Super Bowl win in two weeks, it will be the most in NFL history, breaking a tie with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Their 12 appearances are already a record.
The Steelers also have six Lombardi Trophies, with their most recent one coming during the 2008 campaign. Four of their rings came during the 1970s, however, so New England has been the far more successful franchise recently.
Story continues below advertisement
Pittsburgh hasn’t even won a playoff game since early 2017. losing seven straight postseason games. The Patriots have reached four Super Bowls and won two during that time.
While New England has NFL history at stake, so does its head coach, Mike Vrabel. A three-time Super Bowl champ with the Patriots as a player, he has a chance to become the first person in NFL history to win a Super Bowl as a player and a coach with the same franchise.
Story continues below advertisement
To do that, they’ll have to go through the Seattle Seahawks, who are out for revenge after narrowly losing their last Super Bowl appearance to New England on Malcolm Butler’s goal-line interception 11 years ago. The Seahawks will have to overcome that painful history along with Sam Darnold’s embarrassing 0-4 career record against the Patriots.
Darnold will need to step up against New England’s historically good defense, which is averaging just 8.7 points per game allowed in these playoffs. Meanwhile, the Patriots have already beaten three elite defenses this postseason, so there’s no reason they can’t defeat another.
