The NFL season closes out in style with a Super Bowl 60 match-up between the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots. It’s a rematch of Super Bowl 49, won by the Patriots on the infamous final play where Seattle failed to give Marshawn Lynch the football at the goal line and watched as defensive back Malcolm Butler intercepted Russell Wilson to end the game. The Seahawks are looking to exact revenge while the Patriots are looking to build another dynasty.

They call it the Big Game for very good reason as there are plenty of narratives in play, superstar players, Bad Bunny at halftime and, above all else, the two best teams in the NFL set to square off on the biggest stage in sports. There is plenty to unpack, especially for DFS Showdown contests, so let’s take a look at our NFL DFS Super Bowl picks for Sunday’s Big Game! 

 

 

Seahawks vs. Patriots DFS Picks & Preview: Super Bowl 60, 2/8

Super Bowl 60 delivers a rematch of Super Bowl 49 which saw the Patriots best the Seahawks 28-24 in a dramatic finish, heartbreaking for Seattle fans who were hoping for back-to-back championships and continued euphoria for New England who already had three Super Bowl wins since the turn of the century and were about to win three of the next five. But the outlook is obviously different for both teams on offense and defense.

Ask any Patriots fan and they’ll tell you, “We’re so back,” and it’s difficult to argue as second-year quarterback Drake Maye enjoyed an MVP-caliber season. Doubters will cite the soft schedule for the season, but Maye, with the help of a sturdy rushing attack from Rhamondre Stevenson and strong receiving weapons like Stefon Diggs, Kayshon Boutte and Hunter Henry, led his team past three of the top defenses in the NFL – the Chargers, Texans and Broncos. Credit the New England defense, built by head coach Mike Vrabel, as it was also a key factor throughout the NFL playoffs, but now they must come together against arguably the No. 1 defense in the NFL.

The first thing you think of when mentioning the Seahawks is its defense. Ranked No. 1 against both the run and the pass, according to DVOA metrics, Seattle’s defense has been dominant throughout the season and into the playoffs. The front-seven dominates against the run and you can’t even mention the secondary without bringing up the historic Legion of Boom from Seattle’s past. But this offense has also been incredibly strong, averaging 28.4 points per game (third-highest in the NFL) during the regular season and 36 points per game here in the playoffs.

Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold has silenced the doubters who said he couldn’t win a big game under pressure, Jaxon Smith-Njigba continues to light up the opposition with dynamic catches and 100-yard efforts and a resurgent Kennth Walker III has delivered rushing performances that make everyone wonder why Zach Charbonnet was even a factor this season. Seattle is dominant on both sides of the ball which is easily seen as they are the favorites to win Super Bowl 60. 

 

 

Seahawks vs. Patriots Super Bowl 60 Odds at DraftKings & FanDuel

DraftKings Sportsbook

  • Spread:
    • Seahawks -4.5 (-115)
    • Patriots +4.5 (-105)
  • Moneyline:
    • Seahawks (-230)
    • Patriots (+190)
  • Total:
    • Over 45.5 (-108)
    • Under 45.5 (-112)

FanDuel Sportsbook

  • Spread:
    • Seahawks -4.5 (-112)
    • Patriots +4.5 (-108)
  • Moneyline:
    • Seahawks (-230)
    • Patriots (+194)
  • Total:
    • Over 45.5 (-110)
    • Under 45.5 (-110)
 

 

NFL Weather: Seahawks vs. Patriots Super Bowl 60, February 8th

According to recent Accuweather forecasts for Santa Clara, CA, afternoon temperatures are expected around 69 degrees with partly sunny skies and almost no wind. There is a call for rain in the evening, but current models are showing that the game should be completely unaffected. No one wants to jinx it with a “perfect football weather” label, but conditions are expected to be fine.

Seahawks vs. Patriots Injuries: Super Bowl 60

As of Sunday, February 1 (to be updated throughout the week)

Seattle Seahawks:

New England Patriots:

 

 

Super Bowl 60 DFS Picks: MVP/Captain

Jaxon Smith-Njigba, WR Seattle Seahawks – DraftKings: $17,400 | Fanduel: $19,500

Throughout this entire season and well into the NFL playoffs, Smith-Njigba has been the primary receiving target and has been absolutely dominant every step of the way. He posted almost 1,800 receiving yards with 10 touchdowns on a career-best 162 regular-season targets. But where it gets even more impressive is that he saw more than twice the number of targets than any of the other pass-catchers on the team which means that everyone knew where the ball was going, but they just couldn’t stop him.

The Patriots are likely to put Christian Gonzalez on him in shadow coverage and we can probably expect them to bracket him with safety help as well. If he is truly unstoppable, then he is a must-play for your lineups and should be pretty chalky. If you are favoring the New England side of this game, you know stopping JSN is their top priority. If you believe the Patriots win this one, then this might be a fade for your lineup.

Drake Maye, QB New England Patriots -- DraftKings: $16,500 | Fanduel: $18,900

The questionable tag shouldn’t throw you off using Maye because without him, the Patriots have no shot. He missed last Friday’s practice (1/30) with an illness and the shoulder was also cited. Head coach Mike Vrabel learned from Bull Belichick with regard to injury reports, so this seems more like early gamesmanship than anything else.

Maye’s season says it all and he needs to be at the top of his game against a very tough Seattle defense. He’s managed to make it through a crazy, tough playoff gauntlet so far and his recent success against Denver highlighted his ability to run with the football on his own. Seattle is not a blitz-heavy team, but they did finish seventh this season in sacks and do a very good job getting pressure on the quarterback. Downfield throws are going to be tough in coverage, but Maye should be able to find different pockets in the zone coverage to locate his targets. Short, high-percentage passing to running backs and receivers in the slot might end up his bread and buyer.

Sam Darnold, QB Seattle Seahawks -- DraftKings: $16,200 | Fanduel: $17,700

While Darnold was dominant against the Rams, throwing for 346 yards and three touchdowns, his 238 passing yards per game this season is more likely where we see him finish in this match-up. Maybe even lower as this game doesn’t really profile as a big-time shootout. Seattle offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak prefers a run-first approach and allow the run to set up the pass which takes the pressure off Darnold, something that has helped him significantly throughout the year.

The key factor for Darnold will be utilizing his secondary and tertiary weapons. If the Patriots focus heavily on stopping the run and bracketing JSN, then Darnold is going to have to expose other weaknesses in this defense. They struggled against the tight end all year, so with the New England linebackers banged-up, perhaps more work over the middle is in order. And let’s not forget the match-up downfield as Rashid Shaheed should see a lot of one-on-one coverage against Carlton Davis. 

Kenneth Walker, RB Seattle Seahawks -- DraftKings: $14,700 | Fanduel: $16,800

Walker has been on a monster tear ever since fellow running back Zach Charbonnet was lost to a knee injury early in the Divisional Round. He’s seen 19 carries per game and totaled 178 yards and four rushing touchdowns here in the playoffs. He’s also caught all seven of his targets for a total of 78 receiving yards and looks fantastic once he’s running out in space. We expect another heavy lean on him as splitting time all year has left him with fresh legs here at the end.

The Patriots were one of the top teams against the run throughout the season, allowing an average of just 101.7 rushing yards per game (sixth-lowest) with only 11 rushing touchdowns allowed, but with their linebackers battered and bruised, we just might see a heavier lean on Walker, both on the ground and in the passing attack. Given the price among the rest of the top players, he just might be the best fit as your Captain/MVP.

 

 

Super Bowl 60 DFS Picks: Mid-Tier Plays

Rhamondre Stevenson, RB New England Patriots -- DraftKings: $8,800 | Fanduel: $10,400

The Patriots have leaned almost exclusively on Stevenson for their rushing attack throughout the playoffs. Drake Maye’s legs too, but really, it’s fallen onto Stevenson who has averaged 17 carries per game over the last three along with 10 targets in total. This match-up may force New England into using multiple rushers, but Stevenson will remain the primary.

The Seahawks allowed the third-fewest rushing yards per game throughout the season (91.9) and they’ve done string work here in the playoffs. They shut down Christian McCaffrey in the Divisional Round and in the Conference Championship, Blake Corum and Kyren Williams combined for a somewhat ineffective 94 yards. Where teams have found success against Seattle with respect to the running backs is in the passing game and we expect the Patriots to follow suit. The Seahawks have allowed an average of almost six catches for 38 yards per game. The 49ers had seven catches among their backfield and the Rams had five. Expect Stevenson to see a handful of targets come his way to help boost his value.

Stefon Diggs, WR New England Patriots -- DraftKings: $8,600 | Fanduel: $9,600

Diggs is the most-targeted receiver on the team, has the highest target-share against zone-coverage (Seattle played zone at the second-highest rate in the league) and has found success when the Patriots have moved him into the slot at times. It’s difficult to see the body of work based on the raw numbers, but the 12 targets in the playoffs leads the team and he’s been very reliable on third downs. We’re not going to get world-beating numbers – this isn’t that type of game – but if you’re looking or the guy with the biggest opportunity to do something against this defense, it’s Diggs.

Cooper Kupp, WR Seattle Seahawks -- DraftKings: $5,200 | Fanduel: $8,600

Even with the late-season addition of Rashid Shaheed, Kupp has maintained his presence as the No. 2 receiver in this offense. There’s hasn’t been anything other-worldly to resemble his old days with the Rams, but he’s been incredibly reliable here in the playoffs, catching nine of his 11 targets for 96 yards and a touchdown. If the Patriots are going to focus on covering JSN in this game, then Kupp and Darnold are going to need to be on the same page here. Not too tall an order as the two veterans should be able to connect and get the job done.

 

 

Super Bowl 60 DFS Picks: Value Plays

TreVeyon Henderson, RB New England Patriots -- DraftKings: $3,800 | Fanduel: $8,200

This is a leap-of-faith pick for those who believe they’ve been waiting to unleash Henderson at some point and this might be the most-opportune time. There is nothing about his snap-share, carries or targets to say that this is the right pick, but if you’re looking to deviate from the chalk picks and want to swing for the fences with major upside, it’s Henderson. As mentioned above in the Stevenson write-up, the Seahawks give up the most receptions to running backs this season and the Patriots need to mix in something different to take the Seahawks by surprise. We continuously hear Pats fans hoping for the next James White; maybe this is the time for Henderson.

Kayshon Boutte, WR New England Patriots -- DraftKings: $5,600 | Fanduel: $7,200

He’s second on the team in targets here in the playoffs, so we know that when Maye throws, he’s typically in the mix. Going up against Devin Witherspoon is going to be tough, but Boutte might have a shot to break a big play or two against Josh Jobe. Again, it’s very difficult to predict which receiver can do the most damage, so you have to look at the order of opportunities and he’s right there behind Diggs and at a much cheaper price.

Mack Hollins, WR New England Patriots -- DraftKings: $3,600 | Fanduel: $6,400

The bargain price on DraftKings is fantastic and he is also a great pivot off the other top wideouts in a game we expect to be a defensive war. Before he got hurt, Hollins was weirdly becoming a trusted target for Maye and he saw 17 between the two games right after the bye and right before the injury. His first game back was the Divisional Round and he caught both his targets for 51 yards. The Pats play 11-personnel almost 50-percent of the time, so he will mix in continuously throughout the game.

Rashid Shaheed, WR Seattle Seahawks -- DraftKings: $4,200 | Fanduel: $5,800

He’ll save you some salary, but there is obvious risk as his focus has been on kick returning rather than offensive snaps and targets. In fact, he’s only seen five targets here in the playoffs. However, in addition to be low-cost, he does become an intriguing option to differentiate yourself from the rest of the herd. The DFS sites give credit for kick returns for touchdowns which we saw Shaheed do in the Divisional Round against the 49ers and Kubiak also uses him for jet-sweeps and end-arounds, so there’s a bit of gimmicky rushing that goes on which boosts his potential value.

AJ Barner, TE Seattle Seahawks -- DraftKings: $4,800 | Fanduel: $5,200

Barner has been incredibly quiet during the playoffs, but the Patriots spent much of the season struggling in coverage against the tight end and allowed the 13th-most fantasy points per game against the position. If Robert Spillane is not at 100-percent and the Patriots are focused on shutting down JSN, then we could see a few targets go Barner’s way and he was definitely used as a red-zone threat during the season.

 

 

Super Bowl 60 DFS Picks: Kickers & D/ST

Bottom line is, yes, both kickers and both defenses are in-play for DFS purposes.  The game total of 45.5 along with what we know about how tough both defensive units can be, tells me that this is a “take the points when you can” kind of game and neither Mike Macdonald nor Mike Vrabel are going to pull a Sean Payton on us. That’s not to say neither coach will go for it on fourth at some point, but if the offense is inside field goal range and stalls out, there is no reason to not send the kicker out there to grab three points. Both Jason Meyers and Andres Borregales have been very reliable. Myers was second in field goal attempts this season but Borregales was tied for 13th this season. Both are fairly accurate, so it depends on your narrative for this game. I might lean Myers if pushed to make a decision.

When you use a defense, it is obviously counter-intuitive for your offensive players from the other team, so they are best-used if your narrative is that this game is one-sided. If so then use the defense of the team you think is going to win. They are priced the same and shooting for turnovers is probably similar to hoping one of your value plays hits big, but there is and edge for Seattle given the number of sacks and interceptions from this season. You could also look to Seattle for the special teams aspect if you believe Shaheed will run one back for a score. That’s always in-play, but you’re basically just chasing touchdowns if that’s your rationale.

Seahawks vs. Patriots DFS Player Pool: Super Bowl 60, 2/8

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