Seahawks DE Leonard Williams
Photo: Shara Talia Taylor – NY Beacon
By Shara Talia Taylor
Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold
Photo: Shara Talia Taylor – NY Beacon
Super Bowl LX (60) teams concluded their meetings with the media in the Bay Area this past Thursday ahead of the big game.
Both the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks faced a variety of questions including fun slice-of-life topics, in addition to football. Many were game related questions about players’ preparations and how they were feeling.
The New England Patriots
Patriots quarterback Drake Maye told reporters he felt good Thursday morning at the Santa Clara Marriott where the team held media availability and press conferences in a tent outside the hotel.
Maye stood at a podium on a stage overlooking media and wore a tee-shirt that read “Be a blessing”. He said the team chaplain had preached messages about shining light on others.
“A chance to play in this game is a dream come true and what you work for all year long,” he said when asked how excited he was to showcase his skills Sunday.
Maye and head coach Mike Vrabel led the Patriots to win the 2025-26 AFC Championship after defeating the Denver Broncos 10-7.
Many have viewed the team as the underdog in the upcoming Super Bowl, in part because the Seahawks had one of the best defensive records in the league this season as they kept other teams from scoring. Maye said he intends to play with instinct when asked about being flexible between throwing or using his legs against the Seahawks’ defense.
“Try to remain a passer for as long as I can,” he said. “That’s the biggest thing for me when I’m back there in the pocket. If I feel like something’s there, I go try to take it and try to play instinctive.“
His teammates were asked about game readiness. Wide receiver Stefon Diggs says he felt ready to go after practicing this week. He overcame a torn ACL in 2024 to lead the Patriots with 1,013 receiving yards during the regular season.
“I knew I would be fine,” he said about staying positive during rehab. “I wasn’t even worried about it.”
Other offense members shared their routines.
“I think my routine is the same as it would be at home: waking up in the morning here and getting a shower, getting in a little bit of bible reading before we head over to breakfast and meetings,” said long snapper Julian Asby.
Punter Bryce Baringer agreed.
“Our organization did a tremendous job ‘bringing Gillette (Stadium) to here so it feels just the same,” he said.“It’s great.”
Linebacker Jahlani Tavai said he felt no pressure about Sunday.
“Come game day, I think we’re all going to be excited and ready to go,” he said.
Fellow member of the defense, linebacker Anfernee Jennings shared that he gets ready on game day with music including gospel, R&B, hip hop, and the blues followed by prayer and meditation.
“I feel blessed,” he said. I feel amazing. I’m excited.”
Jennings will be going after Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold in the game, but he has full confidence in the offense’s ability to defend Maye.
“Our offensive line they do a good job of protecting him,” he said.“We’re just going to keep working, working on our fundamentals, our techniques.”
The Seattle Seahawks
Quarterback Sam Darnold and Head coach Mike Macdonald led the Seattle Seahawks to defeat the Los Angeles Rams 31-27 to win the NFC Championship Game for the 2025-26 season.
“Good job,” said safety Julian Love about what he told Darnold after the game. “Let’s do it again, same time, in two weeks.”
Love was asked to reflect on the moment during interviews Tuesday at the San Jose Convention Center, where the Seahawks met with media. Other teammates spoke highly of Darnold. Some had played with him on previous teams.
“Watching him go from what the media were saying about him to now, it’s amazing,” said placekicker Jason Myers about playing with Darnold on the New York Jets in 2018.
Darnold was selected by the Jets as the third overall in the 2018 NFL Draft. He was traded in 2021. Darnold faced Injury and several other trades over the next few years.
“I feel like as a young player, early in my career, I was really hard on myself,” Darnold said about the experience he gained in New York.
Darnold said he reflected on words from former NFL player Jerry Rice about himself never having a perfect practice or perfect game. This helped Darnold to move forward.
“At the end of the day, no matter if I had a bad game, a bad rep, or a bad series of plays, I was always able to wake up the next day and be able to move on,” he said.
Defensive End Leonard Williams, who played on the Jets with Darnold and also on the New York Giants, learned camaraderie from his own experience in New York .
”We went to the playoffs with a team that was looked down on,” he said about playing with the Giants in 2022.
Additionally, punter Michael Dickson discussed staying consistant as a punter for the Seahawks and long snapper Chris Stoll also talked about being consistent for Myers and Dickson.
Players had some time to spend with their families and rest in the days to follow before Super Bowl LX.
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