National Football League

National Football League

The New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks faced off in Super Bowl XLIX in 2015, a memorable matchup the Patriots won 28-24. With a second-and-goal at New England's 1-yard-line late in the fourth quarter, Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson was intercepted by Malcolm Butler in one of the more shocking Super Bowl moments. The Seahawks did not reach the Super Bowl since that matchup until this season.

In his end-of-season press conference -- more than a week after the Los Angeles Rams' season ended -- head coach Sean McVay was asked if he had been able to "decompress" from the loss to the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Championship Game. McVay said he had not, in part because of his love for the 2025 Rams team, saying the loss "probably hurt even more than any loss that I've ever been a part of."

Jeff Garcia, former 49ers quarterback and local fan favorite from his San Jose State, Gavilan and Gilroy years, will join other members of the NFL's NorCal alumni on Thursday, Feb. 5, for a pre-Super Bowl fundraising bash and sushi feast. Tonight's event is being hosted by Sushi Confidential, whose owner, Randy Musterer, says only a limited number of spots are available for the fundraiser that will benefit nonprofits including Santa Clara Valley's Hunger at Home, The City Eats and Beyond the Game Health.

"We're going to let Matthew decide," Snead said when asked if he expected Stafford to return. "I think we've had productive conversations with him, so we're going to give him his space, right, to let's call it, recover, rejuvenate and then determine, 'Hey, do we want to get back on this horse again.'"

Seahawks down 28-24 at the 1-yard line a dynasty waiting in the shadows to be formed. Russell Wilson was one play away from being a back-to-back Super Bowl winner, likely cementing his spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Pete Carroll would've been considered a genius, while the Legion of Boom would've gone down as the greatest defensive unit ever. Instead, in dramatic fashion, Wilson and the Seahawks ran a quick drop-back pass that was intercepted at the goal line by Malcolm Butler.

I've had (almost) two weeks to think about the matchups that will define Super Bowl LX. How will the Patriots try to cover Jaxon Smith-Njigba? How might the Seahawks attempt to block Milton Williams? But I've also had time to wonder whether individual matchups really do define Super Bowls. Are these big game-plan-heavy days really decided by one-on-one showdowns -- even as important as those individual players might be to their teams' success?

The New England Patriots have been able to ride a motley crew of individuals to Super Bowl LX, including a wide receiver in Kayshon Boutte who appeared to be completely left for dead by the NFL after some personal struggles at LSU. Boutte's most infamous problem was related to an unhealthy relationship with gambling on sports. This ultimately led to him seeing his pro stock fall off a cliff and struggling to get acclimated to life in the NFL after he arrived in New England.

The move reunites Angelichio with new Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy, who worked with him in Green Bay from 2016 to 2018, when Angelichio served as the tight ends coach. McCarthy also interviewed former Packers quarterback Scott Tolzien, now the New Orleans Saints quarterback coach, for the Steelers' offensive coordinator job.

This year's class will be revealed Thursday night at NFL Honors, even though it was selected Jan. 13 by the 50-member voting committee. Craig's 32-year wait is increasingly expected to end. A Seniors finalist, he seemingly should emerge after ESPN reported first-ballot snubs of Bill Belichick and Robert Kraft, the former New England Patriots power duo who were coach and owner finalists in the same voting quadrant.