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Happy Super Bowl Sunday, everyone! This is Zach Pereles helping get you ready for the big game with a special edition of the CBS Sports HQ morning newsletter. Below, you’ll find everything you need to know and then some. How to watch, keys to the game, picks, best bets, deep dives, reporting from our talented group of writers in San Francisco and much, much more.
Let’s get right to it.
🏈 Five things to know for Super Bowl Sunday
- What time does the game start? Well if there’s one thing that you absolutely must know, it’s where to actually watch Super Bowl LX, and we have you covered there. The game starts at 6:30 p.m. and NBC has the TV broadcast, but there are plenty of streaming options.
- Want to sound smart about the game at your watch party? Or want to help someone — maybe that person who’s “just here for the Bad Bunny concert” — sound smart about the game? (And no shame there; we’re not gatekeeping!) Jared Dubin has the casual fan’s guide to Patriots vs. Seahawks. And if you want to dive deeper, here are my 60 things to know for Super Bowl 60.
- Let’s at least get to know the quarterbacks first. On one hand, we have Drake Maye of the Patriots, who came up just short of winning league MVP, only for a small handful of votes to upend the process. Maye, 23, looks to become the youngest quarterback to win the Super Bowl. Maye is a terrific athlete, and he might need to use that athleticism against a terrific Seahawks defense. He also has an absolute cannon of an arm, and he’ll likely have to complete a few big passes down the field against this very aggressive Seahawks unit.
- On the other hand, we have Sam Darnold of the Seahawks. Darnold is on the other end of the quarterback experience spectrum: The Seahawks are his fifth NFL team, which would be the most ever for a Super Bowl-winning quarterback. Darnold has thrived throwing to the NFL’s leading receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, but he can be a bit turnover prone, especially when pressured. Then again, the same could be said about Maye. Check out our full quarterback tale of the tape.
- Still only here for Bad Bunny at halftime? Well, don’t forget about Charlie Puth singing the national anthem, Brandi Carlile singing “America the Beautiful” and Coco Jones singing “Life Every Voice and Sing.” Plus, Shanna McCarriston did a great job remembering some iconic halftime shows, listing every Super Bowl halftime headliner and predicting who might join Bad Bunny on stage.
👀 Do not miss this: Our experts’ picks, best bets, and in-depth preview
After 272 regular-season games and 12 postseason games, it’s all come down to this, and our experts made their picks, including the best prop bets available.
The Seahawks are 4.5-point favorites, tied for the largest Super Bowl favorites in the last 15 years. Tyler Sullivan thinks they will more than live up to that billing.
- Sullivan: “The Seahawks are top 10 in the NFL in pressure rate this season (including playoffs) and are third in total pressures. They do that despite being one of the least frequent blitzing teams in the NFL, meaning they can apply pressure by simply sending four. In turn, that’ll allow them to have an extra man in coverage, which will make life difficult for Drake Maye, who has been sacked five times in each of his three playoff games this year. Projected score: Seahawks 30, Patriots 17“
Here’s the full explanation for our predictions:
Pete Prisco | John Breech | Jordan Dajani and Jared Dubin | Tyler Sullivan | Garrett Podell | Zach Pereles | We even have a Madden simulation!
Meanwhile, our friends over at SportsLine made their best bets across the board. The SportsLine model ran 10,000 simulations to pick its winner, and speaking of more big numbers, R.J. White has 60 — yes, 60! — picks worth considering, including …
- White: “Under 45.5 (-110), Under 20.5 1H (+102), Under 7.5 1Q (-118) — I think this is going to be a lower-scoring game, and I definitely think it’ll be a lower-scoring start to the game. The pregame ceremonies for the Super Bowl are so long that it often takes players who aren’t used to it time to get into the natural rhythm of the game, and with two elite defenses in this matchup, I wouldn’t be surprised if it takes a while to score a touchdown.”
I like this a lot. Two quarterbacks in their first Super Bowl, two good defenses, an incalculable number of nerves? A slow start might not be the most fun, but if you listen to R.J., it might be profitable.
If you’re looking for even more advantages, Gene Menez has trends to consider, and R.J. has a prop bets guide an some MVP best bets.
💪 How the Patriots and Seahawks got here
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If there’s one thing this Super Bowl teaches us, it’s to expect the unexpected. Very few people expected either of these teams to be here, and no one expected both of them to end up on the grandest stage. I mean, the Patriots went 4-13 last year! Seattle quarterback Sam Darnold had never won a playoff game before this season! It’s also the first time both Super Bowl teams had 50-1 or worse preseason Super Bowl odds since 1981!
If there’s another thing this Super Bowl teaches us, it’s that there is no one perfect way to build a team. Maye is a young ascending star, and that’s a great start. But Darnold has been on four teams in four years, yet here he is anyway.
The one thing they — and all other Super Bowl participants — have in common? They built great rosters using all of their resources well.
New England had the most cap space in the NFL in the 2025 offseason, and they used it to their advantage: Stefon Diggs, Milton Williams, Carlton Davis, Robert Spillane, Mack Hollins, Harold Landry, K’Lavon Chaisson and many others have been massive additions. It’s rare when huge spenders make huge leaps, but the Patriots managed to do just that. Give enormous credit to GM Eliot Wolf and coach Mike Vrabel. Jared has five reasons behind New England’s Super Bowl trip.
The Seahawks also brought in some key free agents — Darnold, DeMarcus Lawrence and Cooper Kupp — but how about their drafting and trading work? Ernest Jones turned into a second-team All-Pro linebacker, and Rashid Shaheed has been a big-play threat as a returner and receiver.
But Seattle’s work as a talent-development organization has been tremendous, too. Garrett examined five reasons Seattle’s here, and one of the biggest is Jaxon Smith-Njigba. I absolutely loved Chris Hummer’s look back at Smith-Njigba becoming a star, and his emergence has forced a shakeup at the top of our wide receiver rankings.
He’s also atop Pete Prisco’s Super Bowl starter rankings. Here are a few who stood out to me:
- 3. Seahawks CB Devon Witherspoon
- 6. Patriots CB Christian Gonzalez
- 11. Patriots DL Milton Williams
- 24. Patriots LT Will Campbell
- 40. Seahawks WR Cooper Kupp (Remember him?)
Oh yeah, and let’s not forget about Darnold. He’s a unique success story, and we — and NFL teams — can learn a lot from it.
🧠 In-depth breakdown: Why Patriots’ Milton Williams will be key
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OK friends, time to nerd out. Jared has the deep-dive breakdown that will make you a smarter fan and a smarter viewer tonight.
The biggest weak spot on the Seahawks might be the interior of their offensive line, and the Patriots might just have the guy to exploit it.
- Dubin: “Milton Williams has been a monster since signing his mega free-agent deal last offseason. And New England’s defense is a different animal when he is on the field than when he is off it. According to ESPN, the Pats rank sixth in pass-rush win rate with Williams on the field and 26th with him off. According to Tru Media, they allow an additional half-yard per carry before contact with Williams on the sideline than when he is in the game. Since he returned from his injury, the Patriots have been defending at an extremely high level, and they’ll need that to continue here.”
Williams was huge in last year’s Super Bowl with the Eagles, sacking Patrick Mahomes twice. Could he have a similar effect on Darnold? We’ll see!
Speaking of being back in the Super Bowl, yes, the Patriots really are here again. Jordan has your guide for coping with the franchise that just keeps winning.
If Williams and the rest of the Patriots’ defensive front can’t wreak havoc, Smith-Njigba could have a big day.
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