If you are studying concerning the Super Bowl, likelihood is you are a fairly large soccer fan and know precisely what to anticipate Sunday night. You know that the New England Patriots are again in the Super Bowl for the primary time for the reason that finish of the Tom Brady period, trying to seize their record-setting seventh Super Bowl title. And you know that the Seattle Seahawks are again in the Super Bowl for the primary time since they made back-to-back journeys over a decade in the past, and are trying to get revenge for their loss to New England in Super Bowl XLIX.
On the opposite hand, possibly you do not know any of that. Maybe you are only a informal fan whose solely engagement with soccer yearly goes to a Super Bowl get together and contributing a couple of phrases right here and there in the course of the commercials.
In that case, we have got you lined. This is the eighth annual informal fan’s information to the Super Bowl, the place we’ll train you every little thing you might probably want to know to flip your self from a novice into an knowledgeable earlier than the game begins.
Where to watch Super Bowl 2026: Seahawks vs. Patriots kickoff time, TV channel, dwell stream and prediction
Zachary Pereles
Who’s enjoying in Super Bowl 60?
Representing the AFC, we’ve the New England Patriots. The Pats are making their record-setting twelfth journey to the Super Bowl, and their first for the reason that Tom Brady period. If they win this game, they will break a tie with the Pittsburgh Steelers for essentially the most Super Bowl wins in NFL historical past, with seven.
Representing the NFC are the Seattle Seahawks. Seattle is again in the Super Bowl for a fourth time in franchise historical past, and the primary since dropping to the Patriots following the 2014 season. If they win this game, it will depend as revenge for one of the crucial dramatic (and traumatic) Super Bowl losses in the historical past of the league.
What time is the Super Bowl? Where is it? How do I watch?
Date: Sunday, Feb. 8 | Time: 6:30 p.m. ET
Location: Levi’s Stadium (Santa Clara, California)
TV: NBC, stream dwell on Peacock
Follow: CBS Sports App
The Super Bowl begins at 6:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. The game can be performed at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California. The NFL rotates the placement of the Super Bowl yearly as a result of it typically needs to present a impartial website in order that no group has home-field benefit. This has labored out in all however two seasons.
This 12 months’s broadcast is on NBC and streaming on Peacock. The common Super Bowl broadcast over the previous 20 years or so has been about three-and-a-half hours. It’s fairly lengthy. That features a halftime present that typically lasts 20-Half-hour.
Who’s acting at halftime?
It’s worldwide celebrity and six-time Grammy Award winner Bad Bunny.
Who are the quarterbacks of the Patriots and Seahawks?
It’s all the time a great wager that the quarterbacks will play an enormous function in the Super Bowl. A quarterback often wins MVP of the game, in any case. A quarterback has received 34 of the earlier 59 Super Bowl MVP trophies, and 17 of the final 25 since 2000.
The quarterback of the Patriots is Drake Maye (No. 10). Maye is barely in his second NFL season after being chosen with the No. 3 total decide in the 2024 NFL Draft. He’s thought-about an inner-circle MVP candidate together with Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford after Maye led the NFL in completion share, yards per try, passer ranking, QBR and anticipated factors added per play in the course of the common season. He’s struggled a bit as a passer in the course of the playoffs however his work as a runner has been terrific, particularly in the course of the AFC title game in opposition to the Denver Broncos.
The quarterback of the Seahawks is Sam Darnold (No. 14). Darnold can also be a former No. 3 total decide, having been chosen by the New York Jets again in 2018. He washed out with New York and was traded for a pittance to the Carolina Panthers after his third NFL season. He was shortly benched in Carolina as effectively, then grew to become a backup for the San Francisco 49ers. Last season, he led the Minnesota Vikings to a 14-3 report however the Vikings allowed him to go away in free company to flip the quarterback job over to J.J. McCarthy. He signed a free-agent take care of Seattle and led the Seahawks to one other 14-3 report. The NFC title game in opposition to the Rams was arguably the very best game of his NFL profession.
Are there different particularly notable gamers I ought to know?
Of course! You do not get to the Super Bowl and not using a ton of high quality expertise in your group.
Let’s begin with the Patriots:
- Running backs Rhamondre Stevenson (No. 38) and TreVeyon Henderson (No. 32). Stevenson is a fifth-year again who signed a four-year, $36 million contract. He struggled badly to begin the season, together with having some fumbling points, however has actually come on down the stretch of the season and relegated Henderson to a bit function. Henderson is a rookie who specializes in explosive performs. He crammed in because the lead again in place of Stevenson when the latter was harm in the course of the season, however has since slid again right into a secondary function.
- Wide receiver Stefon Diggs (No. 8). A four-time Pro Bowler and two-time All-Pro, Diggs signed a three-year, $63.5 million contract with the Patriots this previous offseason. He tore his ACL final 12 months however has been absolutely wholesome all through this season. He’s Maye’s prime possibility in the passing game regardless of not enjoying a full complement of snaps.
- Offensive lineman Will Campbell (No. 66) Campbell was the Patriots’ first-round decide in the 2025 NFL Draft, being chosen with the No. 4 total decide. He had a strong rookie 12 months however has often struggled in cross safety, particularly with velocity across the edge. He additionally missed time with an damage towards the top of the common season and hasn’t regarded his finest since then.
- Defensive linemen Milton Williams (No. 97), Khyiris Tonga (No. 95) and Christian Barmore (No. 90). Williams signed a monster free-agent take care of the Patriots final offseason and has been unbelievable in his function. The New England protection reaches a distinct degree when he is on the sector. Tonga signed a low-cost take care of New England this previous offseason and has been a revelation, particularly as a run defender. He additionally often operates as a fullback when the Pats get into short-yardage conditions. Barmore is on a four-year, $84 million contract extension signed again in 2024. He was New England’s second-round decide in 2021, and he is largely been an excellent participant since then. He missed a lot of the 2024 season due to blood clots however returned this 12 months.
- Cornerback Christian Gonzalez (No. 0). Gonzalez is among the finest cornerbacks in the NFL. He is usually charged with “shadowing” the opposing group’s prime extensive receiver (i.e. following him everywhere in the discipline, regardless of the place he traces up) and could possibly be requested to do this in this game with Seahawks star Jaxon Smith-Njigba (extra on him beneath).
And what concerning the Seahawks?
- Wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (No. 11). JSN had probably the greatest extensive receiver seasons in current reminiscence, catching 119 passes for 1,793 yards and 10 touchdowns. He is by far the highest goal for Darnold in the passing game, lining up everywhere in the formation and breaking opponents down along with his silky-smooth route operating and soft-but-strong fingers.
- Running again Kenneth Walker III (No. 9). Walker is the Seahawks’ characteristic again in the wake of an damage to co-starter Zach Charbonnet. Known for his explosive runs, Walker is not essentially the most constant runner on a down-to-down foundation however he’s a menace to rating any time he touches the ball.
- Defensive linemen Leonard Williams (No. 99), Demarcus Lawrence (No. 0), Uchenna Nwosu (No. 7) and Byron Murphy (No. 91). Seattle’s defensive entrance is among the finest in all of soccer, if not the very best. These guys are absolute game-wreckers who destroy opposing offensive traces each in the run game and when speeding the passer. If there’s any space in this game the place the Seahawks have an enormous benefit, it’s with this group in opposition to New England’s so-so-at-best offensive line in entrance of Maye.
- Defensive backs Devon Witherspoon (No. 21) and Nick Emmanwori (No. 3). Witherspoon and Emmanwori are key to making head coach Mike Macdonald’s protection work. Witherspoon is an elite cornerback who splits his time between lining up exterior and in the slot. Emmanwori is nominally a security however spends a lot of his time working as a slot nook or passing-down linebacker, and he is been unbelievable in the twin function throughout his rookie season.
- Wide receiver/Returner Rashid Shaheed (No. 22). The Seahawks traded for Shaheed in the course of the season, buying him from the New Orleans Saints in alternate for fourth- and fifth-round picks. He has largely made his affect in the return game but in addition operates as a complementary receiver alongside Smith-Njigba and Cooper Kupp.
There are clearly extra notable gamers, however this record is an efficient begin.
Who are the coaches of the Patriots and Seahawks?
The head coach of the Patriots is Mike Vrabel. A former longtime Patriots linebacker who received three Super Bowls with the franchise in 2001, 2003 and 2004, Vrabel is a CEO-style coach (i.e. he doesn’t name performs on both aspect of the ball) who leans towards the defensive aspect of the ball. He is the previous head coach of the Tennessee Titans, having gone 54-45 in six seasons with Tennessee whereas additionally main the Titans to one AFC title game. He was fired by Tennessee amid an influence battle with the entrance workplace and sat out the 2024 season earlier than touchdown the Patriots’ teaching job final offseason. He led one of many greatest single-season turnarounds in league historical past, taking the Patriots from 4-13 to 14-3 in only one 12 months.
The head coach of the Seahawks is Mike Macdonald. Macdonald is extensively thought-about probably the greatest defensive minds in the NFL. A longtime assistant and former defensive coordinator for the Baltimore Ravens, Macdonald landed the Seattle job as a part of the 2024 head teaching cycle. He shortly constructed one of many league’s finest defenses, which took off down the stretch of the 2024 marketing campaign and remained elite all through this season. Macdonald fired former offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb after his preliminary season as the top coach, hiring Klint Kubiak (extra on him beneath) in his place, which helped the offense take one other step ahead and lead the Seahawks to a 14-3 report in the course of the common season.
The Patriots and Seahawks additionally each have a number of well-known assistant coaches.
- New England’s offensive coordinator is Josh McDaniels. McDaniels was the longtime offensive coordinator for the Patriots in the course of the Bill Belichick and Tom Brady period. He has been a head coach twice in his profession however every stint was extraordinarily unsuccessful, so he’s again in New England beneath Vrabel, who introduced him in to elevate Maye’s profession.
- The Patriots’ defensive coordinator is Terrell Williams. Williams has been coping with a most cancers prognosis all through this season and has been away from the group, however he’s anticipated to journey to the Bay Area for the game. Inside linebackers coach Zak Kuhr has been calling the defensive performs in Williams’ place and must be anticipated to achieve this once more in the course of the Super Bowl.
- The Seahawks’ offensive coordinator is Klint Kubiak. One of the most popular head teaching candidates available on the market this offseason, Kubiak is a extremely revered offensive thoughts. A member of the famed Shanahan teaching tree, he runs an offense that emphasizes the run game and play-action passing. He’s thought-about a front-runner for the open Las Vegas Raiders head teaching job.
- Seattle’s defensive coordinator is Aden Durde. A former defensive position coach for the Dallas Cowboys, Durde hails from London, England, which is kind of uncommon for an NFL coach. He does not name the defensive performs, as that accountability lies with Macdonald.
What’s a great speaking level to deliver up with followers of every group?
- Patriots followers: We’re again on prime! (The Patriots had been the winningest franchise in the NFL in the course of the Tom Brady period.)
- Seahawks followers: Revenge! (The Seahawks misplaced to the Patriots in traumatic trend in Super Bowl XLIX.)
