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01/28 10:33 CST Mike Macdonald and Mike Vrabel lead Seahawks and Patriots to Super Bowl in quick turnarounds Mike Macdonald and Mike Vrabel lead Seahawks and Patriots to Super Bowl in quick turnarounds By JOSH DUBOW AP Pro Football Writer Two years ago, the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots made the decision to move on from Super Bowl-winning coaches Pete Carroll and Bill Belichick. Those decisions have been validated now that Mike Macdonald and Mike Vrabel have engineered quick turnarounds to get the two franchises back to the Super Bowl, with Macdonald doing it in his second season in Seattle and Vrabel in his first in New England. This marks just the fourth Super Bowl featuring two head coaches in their first or second year. It last happened in the 2008 season when Pittsburgh's Mike Tomlin bested Arizona's Ken Whisenhunt in a matchup of second-year coaches. Macdonald took over a Seahawks team that failed to win a playoff game in Carroll's last four seasons and won 10 games in 2024 before going 14-3 this season, earning the top seed in the NFC and a spot in the Super Bowl. The Patriots won just four games last year under Jerod Mayo before hiring Vrabel and undergoing a remarkable turnaround. New England went 14-3 in the regular season and won three playoff games as Vrabel became the eighth head coach to reach the Super Bowl in his first year on the job. Now he tries to join Gary Kubiak (2015 Broncos), Jon Gruden (2002 Buccaneers), George Seifert (1989 49ers) and Don McCafferty (1970 Colts) as the only coaches to win a Super Bowl in their first year with a team. This marks just the sixth Super Bowl featuring two teams that missed the playoffs the previous season, with that last happening in 2003 when the Patriots beat Carolina for their second title. New England is also just the fifth team to make it to the Super Bowl a season after winning four or fewer games, with only the 1999 Rams completing that turnaround as champions. Cincinnati lost the Super Bowl following four-win seasons in 1988 and 2021, while San Francisco fell short in 2019.

Stafford's tough luck The numbers Matthew Stafford produced in his last two trips to Seattle against the league's top scoring defense were staggering: 861 yards passing, six TD passes and no turnovers. The results weren't so good for the Los Angeles Rams as special teams blunders and shoddy defense led to two losses in those game, including a 31-27 defeat in the NFC title game. Stafford threw for 374 yards and three TDs on Sunday and became the only quarterback ever to lose a playoff game when throwing for at least 350 yards and three TDs with no turnovers. Stafford's 961 yards passing in three games against the Seahawks --- he had 130 in a Week 11 win --- are the most ever in a season for a quarterback against one opponent without an interception, topping Daunte Culpepper's 932 against Green Bay in three games during the 2004 season. But he lost on Sunday because Seattle counterpart Sam Darnold was almost as good, going 25 for 36 for 346 yards and three TDs in a turnover-free performance. That made the NFC title game the second conference title game ever with both quarterbacks throwing for at least 300 yards and three touchdowns. It also happened in the 1984 AFC championship game when Miami's Dan Marino outdueled Pittsburgh's Mark Malone. The series between the Rams and Seahawks was a memorable one this season, with Los Angeles winning the first by two points and Seattle winning the next two by one and four points, respectively. Only four other matchups have featured three games in a season decided by four points or fewer, with only one including a game in the conference or league championship game. That happened in 1933 when the Bears and Giants split two close games in the regular season before Chicago won 23-21 in the NFL title game.

Patriots defense dominates While the offenses shined in the NFC, the AFC title game was a defensive grind as both teams struggled to move the ball early and then couldn't do much of anything once the snow started falling in the third quarter. That's been the formula this postseason for the Patriots, who have allowed only 26 points through three playoff games, tied for the second fewest ever by a team that needed three wins to reach the Super Bowl. Baltimore gave up 16 in 2000. New England allowed three points to the Chargers in the wild-card round, 16 to Houston in the divisional round and seven to Denver in the title game. The Patriots have allowed two TDs in the three games while the defense scored one against the Texans and recovered a fumble to set up a 12-yard TD drive in a 10-7 victory over the Broncos. Only two other teams won a conference title game with 10 points or fewer, with Buffalo beating Denver 10-7 in the 1991 season and the Los Angeles Rams topping Tampa Bay 9-0 in 1979. That has taken a significant load off Drake Maye and the offense as he has already won two games this postseason when his team scored 16 points or fewer. Only Terry Bradshaw has more career playoff wins (three) when his team scores that few points, doing it in 19 starts compared to the three playoff starts for Maye. Only three other quarterbacks since starts began being tracked in 1950 have two playoff wins when their team is held to 16 points or fewer, with Tom Brady doing it in 48 starts, Bart Starr in 10 and Nick Foles in six. The Patriots are averaging 15.7 points per game on offense this postseason for the second-lowest mark for a team that reached the Super Bowl in the last 38 seasons. New England scored 13 points per game on offense in two wins leading up to the Super Bowl in the 2001 season. Brady won the Super Bowl that season and is one of four QBs to win it all in his first or second season. Maye can join Brady, Kurt Warner (1999 Rams), Ben Roethlisberger (2005 Steelers) and Russell Wilson (2013 Seahawks) as the only others to do it.

Lose to the worst, be the best A season that will end at the Super Bowl didn't get off to quite as good a start for New England. The Patriots lost the season opener at home to Las Vegas 20-13. The Raiders won only two other games all season, earning the No. 1 overall draft pick as the worst team in the league. Only three other teams made the Super Bowl in a season when they lost to the team that "earned" the No. 1 pick based on their record. Green Bay lost a Week 12 game to Indianapolis in 1997 before losing the Super Bowl to Denver. The Colts finished 3-13 and drafted Peyton Manning. It also happened in 1987 when Washington lost to Atlanta in Week 2 before winning the Super Bowl that season. The Falcons went 3-12 before drafting Aundray Bruce. The other time occurred in 1968 when Joe Namath's New York Jets lost to Buffalo in Week 4 before beating Baltimore in the Super Bowl. The Bills went 1-12-1 and drafted O.J. Simpson. ___ Inside the Numbers dives into NFL statistics, streaks and trends each week. For more Inside the Numbers, head here. ___ AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL

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