- A defensive duel is in store: While the Patriots' and Seahawks' offenses are plenty capable of putting up points, their defenses rank among the best of the past decade of Super Bowl teams.
- Keep an eye on the Seahawks' run defense: Seattle’s -0.196 EPA allowed per run play in 2025 leads the league and also paces all 20 teams that have made the Super Bowl since 2016.
- 2026 NFL Draft season is here: Try the best-in-class PFF Mock Draft Simulator and learn about 2026's top prospects while trading and drafting for your favorite NFL team.
Estimated Reading Time: 3 minutes
We've already examined the 2025 Patriots and Seahawks offenses to see how they stack up with the other 18 Super Bowl participants of the past decade. Now, we're turning to the defenses.
Both units are among the NFL's best, separated by the smallest of margins. The Patriots rank second best in EPA allowed per play (-0.128), and the Seahawks rank third best (-0.127). The units also place second and third, respectively, among the 20 Super Bowl teams of the past decade. Only the 2024 Philadelphia Eagles, who allowed -0.129 EPA per play, beat them out.
As a result, both teams could end the season with the most efficient defense of any Super Bowl-participating team over the past decade by putting together a strong performance in Super Bowl 60 on Sunday.
When looking at success rate, which is impacted less by big plays, we get a relatively different picture.
Seattle’s 40.0% success rate allowed ranks third in 2025, while the Patriots’ 43.2% success clip ranks 13th. That puts New England in 11th among the 20 teams that participated in the past 10 Super Bowls, and the Seahawks take the top spot, giving them a case for having the best defense among the teams that have made the Super Bowl since 2016.
We see similar tendencies when examining just pass plays. The 2025 Patriots boast the best defensive efficiency on pass plays among the cohort. They have allowed a mere -0.135 EPA per pass play, the second-best rate in the NFL in 2025. They were one of 13 teams to surrender negative EPA on pass plays, and they lead all Super Bowl participants of the past decade. Seattle’s passing defense ranks fifth in 2025 (-0.090) and also fifth among the 20-team group.
The Patriots and Seahawks swap places when looking at defensive success rate on pass plays. Whereas Seattle’s 42.9% clip ranks third this season, New England’s 44.4% clip places ninth. Seattle slots into fifth among the 20 teams, while the Patriots rank seventh. The pack is led by the 2022 Philadelphia Eagles and the 2023 Kansas City Chiefs, whose defenses logged 42.2% success rates on pass plays.
We'll round things out with the ground game. Seattle’s -0.196 EPA allowed per run play in 2025 leads the league and also paces all 20 teams that have made the Super Bowl since 2016. The Patriots rank ninth both in 2025 and among the Super Bowl teams of the past decade (-0.114).
The Seahawks hold the top spot in 2025 with a 34.4% success rate allowed on run plays, but they fall behind the 2017 Philadelphia Eagles' defense (33.8%) among the past 20 Super Bowl teams. New England’s 41.1% success rate allowed on run plays ranks just 21st in in 2025 and 14th among the cohort.
When we dove into both offenses, it became clear that they didn't hold up well to their Super Bowl counterparts. But defenses win championships, as they say, and the Patriots and Seahawks will bring two of the NFL's best into Super Bowl 60.
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