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Key Super Bowl intel through the lens of NFL Next Gen Stats

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Key Super Bowl intel through the lens of NFL Next Gen Stats


  • DJ Bien-AimeFeb 7, 2026, 06:00 AM ET

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      DJ Bien-Aime covers the Houston Texans for ESPN. He joined ESPN in July of 2022 after covering the New York Jets for the New York Daily News. He’s a former athlete who finished his college career at Louisville. You can catch DJ on ESPN Radio on his show “Talkin’ Texans.”

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Rewind to the beginning of September, when there were 32 NFL teams gearing up for a run to Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California — home of Super Bowl LX.

Now, only two remain — with the Seattle Seahawks set to take on the New England Patriots on Sunday for the Lombardi Trophy.

The last time the Seahawks played the Patriots in a Super Bowl 11 years ago, Malcolm Butler intercepted Russell Wilson to effectively end the game, a play that would go down as one of the most memorable in Super Bowl history.

Most of the players from that game are retired, but the ripple effect remains.

This year’s Seahawks defense is similar to that 2014 Super Bowl team — with both teams allowing the fewest points in the NFL in the regular season. On the other side of the ball, Seattle has leaned throughout the playoffs on quarterback Sam Darnold, who has diced up defenses to the tune of a 122 passer rating.

For the Patriots, they are led by second-year quarterback Drake Maye. His regular-season success that led to him being an MVP finalist hasn’t fully translated to the postseason — where he has four touchdowns in three games and a 55% completion percentage, and he has also been sacked 15 times. In the regular season, Maye had 35 total touchdowns while leading the league in completion percentage (72%).

In the postseason, the Patriots defense has more than done its part. It has allowed 8.6 points per game in the playoffs — with the Los Angeles Chargers being the next closest team after giving up 16 points in their opening-round loss to New England.

Here’s a look at some NFL Next Gen Stats that could reveal what will decide the Super Bowl:

Darnold under pressure

Throughout the playoffs, the Patriots have generated pressure on opposing quarterbacks. Against the Houston Texans in the divisional round, quarterback C.J. Stroud went 2-of-16 passing for 13 yards with an interception when pressured.

In the wild-card round, the Patriots held Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert to three completions on eight attempts with six sacks. In the AFC Championship Game against the Denver Broncos, quarterback Jarrett Stidham completed one pass for 4 yards on 10 attempts when under pressure.

Darnold, though, has avoided turnovers and remained poised under 21 pressured dropbacks through two postseason games. He has gone 7-of-16 for 117 yards and four touchdowns (five sacks). In the NFC Championship Game against the Los Angeles Rams, he threw three touchdowns under pressure (5-of-11 for 102 yards).

It has been a completely different tale from the regular season, as Darnold committed a turnover on a league-high 7.2% of his pressured dropbacks — including six interceptions and five fumbles lost. The Patriots have generated four turnovers caused by pressure through three postseason games after causing three such turnovers during the regular season (third fewest).

But protecting Darnold has been effective. Despite facing the second-highest blitz rate this season (35.1%), the Seahawks allowed just a 29.2% pressure rate (fifth lowest) and 38 unblocked pressures (seventh fewest). Every Seahawks starting offensive lineman finished in the top 12 at their position in pressure-rate allowed.

Protecting Maye

Maye was sacked on five of his 11 pressured dropbacks in the AFC Championship Game, resulting in his second-highest pressure-to-sack rate in a game in his career (45.5%), trailing only his 62.5% rate in the divisional round against the Texans (eight pressures, five sacks).

Maye has been sacked 15 times this postseason, which is the most by any player to reach a Super Bowl since the AFL-NFL merger 1970. He has taken a sack on 48.4% of his pressured dropbacks this postseason, more than double his 20.3% rate during the regular season.

Patriots left tackle Will Campbell allowed five pressures on 30 pass blocks in the AFC Championship (16.7%) and has now allowed four or more pressures in every game this postseason. Campbell has been tasked with difficult matchups, going against both Broncos pass rusher Nik Bonitto (four pressures allowed) and Texans defensive end Will Anderson Jr. (three pressures allowed, two sacks) 14 times each. Bonitto generated the second-highest pressure rate in the NFL during the regular season (20.2%, minimum 250 pass rushes) while Anderson ranked third highest (19.5%).

However, it won’t get easier against the Seattle defense which is ranked tied for seventh in sacks (47).

JSN’s dominance from all over the field

Having an answer for Seahawks wideout Jaxon Smith-Njigba has been tough for teams this season. The All-Pro wide receiver led the NFL in receiving yards (1,793); when aligned out wide, he also led the league with 1,378 yards after he led the league with 956 yards when aligned in the slot last season.

In the NFC Championship Game, Smith-Njigba totaled 153 receiving yards, including 105 from out wide, and he also caught his first career touchdown when aligned in the backfield. The Patriots will be on high alert trying to figure out where he is.

Smith-Njigba aligned out wide on 81.3% of snaps this season, but he was in the slot at a season-high 42.1% rate in the NFC Championship Game. This could be a factor if Seattle offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak decides to have his star receiver avoid All-Pro cornerback Christian Gonzalez.

Key matchup: Pats jumbo vs. Seahawks’ nickel personnel

The Patriots’ offense has used jumbo personnel on 18.4% of its snaps since Week 11 (115 of 624, including the playoffs). New England scored a league-high 13 touchdowns from the grouping during the regular season, while averaging 6.1 yards per play (third most). The biggest beneficiary is Patriots running back Rhamondre Stevenson. He ran for 225 yards and scored four touchdowns on 23 carries out of jumbo sets this season.

Stevenson’s 9.8 yards per carry out of jumbo was a full three yards more than any other player in 2025, and the most by any player with at least 20 such carries in a season during the Next Gen Stats era (since 2016). The Patriots rushed for 10 touchdowns out of jumbo as a team, two more than any other offense (Steelers, eight).

The Seahawks rarely faced jumbo personnel throughout the regular season (26 plays, fourth lowest). But they matched jumbo looks with nickel personnel on 46.2% of those snaps.

More Maye

Maye’s downfield passes were among the best this season (10 or more air yards), leading the league with 112 completions while also posting a league-high 61.2% completion percentage. He also threw 19 touchdowns on downfield passes, tied with Darnold and Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford for the most.

But in the playoffs, Maye is 9-of-26 on passes traveling over 10 yards (34%). If Maye can’t let it rip, expect him to run — as he recorded the third-most scramble yards this season with 423. He was especially effective when tucking to run on early downs.

On first- and second-down scramble rushes, Maye led the NFL with 46 carries, 330 yards and 16 first downs (tied for the most with Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes). His scramble run rate of 10.7% on early downs was actually higher than his 9.1% rate on third down, making him one of 14 qualified quarterbacks to take off and run more often on first and second down than third.





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Iran’s soccer team honors victims of elementary school airstrike

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March 27, 2026

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Iran’s soccer team honors victims of elementary school airstrike


Mar 27, 2026, 02:31 PM ET

ANTALYA, Turkey — Players held small backpacks as Iran‘s national soccer team used a match against Nigeria on Friday to honor the victims of a deadly missile strike on an elementary school.

More than 165 people were killed, most of them children, when a Feb. 28 strike, likely launched by the U.S., hit the school in southern Iran.

– Iran bans sports teams’ travel to ‘hostile’ nations

Neither the United States nor Israel has accepted responsibility for the attack, which has come under staunch criticism from the United Nations and human rights groups. The U.S. military is investigating and has said it would never target civilians.

During the national anthem Friday, the Iranian team honored the memory of the slain children by placing small pink and purple school backpacks in front of them.

Video of the ceremony also showed the players wearing black armbands in remembrance of those killed since the war began.

The match was played in Antalya, southern Turkey.

Nigeria won 2-1 in a game that was a World Cup tuneup for Iran, ahead of the tournament being co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada.

The Islamic Republic’s team is scheduled to play three group-stage matches in June in the U.S. The Iranian ambassador in Mexico City has said the country asked FIFA to move those three games to Mexico after U.S. President Donald Trump discouraged the team from attending, citing safety concerns.

Iranian government and soccer officials have said they do not want to boycott the World Cup but that it is not possible for the national team to go to the U.S. because of military attacks on Iran by Israel and U.S.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino has dampened Iran’s attempts to move its matches, saying global soccer’s governing body wants the tournament “to go ahead as scheduled.”

Separately on Friday, Iran’s judiciary threatened to seize the property of soccer player Sardar Azmoun, two semiofficial news agencies said. The announcement follows threats from Iran’s hard-liner judicial chief that authorities planned to seize the assets of celebrities viewed as critical of the government.



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Tiger Woods arrested at crash scene on suspicion of DUI, sheriff says

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March 27, 2026

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Tiger Woods arrested at crash scene on suspicion of DUI, sheriff says


Mar 27, 2026, 05:14 PM ET

Tiger Woods showed signs of impairment and was arrested Friday at the scene of a car crash in which he struck another vehicle and rolled his Land Rover, authorities said.

Martin County Sheriff John Budensiek said Woods and the person in the other vehicle were not injured. Woods was able to crawl out of the passenger side of his Land Rover.

The crash occurred just after 2 p.m. not far from where Woods lives on Jupiter Island. Budensiek said Woods attempted to pass a pressure cleaner truck while driving on a two-land road. He swerved to avoid a collision as he was passing the truck, but clipped the back end of the truck’s trailer. Woods’ vehicle then rolled onto its driver’s side.

Budensiek said investigators at the scene found Woods to be showing signs of impairment. He did a breathalyzer test, which came out negative, but he refused to take a urine test. Authorities charged him with driving under the influence with property damage and refusal to submit to a lawful test, Budensiek said. Both charges are misdemeanors.

Woods’ manager at Excel Sports did not immediately respond to a text message seeking information.

Woods, 50, had spent the past several months recovering from a ruptured Achilles tendon and another back surgery in October. The 15-time major champion competed for the first time in more than a year during Tuesday’s TGL finals, where his Jupiter Links GC team lost to the Los Angeles Golf Club.

He had been weighing whether to return to the PGA Tour at the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club, the first major of the season, which begins April 9.

Woods last competed on the PGA Tour in July 2024 when he missed the cut at the Open Championship at Royal Troon Golf Club in Scotland. He last played four rounds in a PGA Tour event at the 2024 Masters.

In February 2021, Woods suffered significant leg injuries in a one-car crash outside of Los Angeles, in which his SUV rolled several times and left him trapped in the car. He later had surgery to deal with “open fractures” to his lower right leg, had a rod placed in a tibia and had screws and pins inserted in his foot and ankle during emergency surgery. Woods was hospitalized for three weeks following the surgery.

At the 2021 Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas, Woods said, “I’m lucky to be alive and also have a limb.” He said it was 50-50 as to whether part of his right leg could have been amputated.

He had at least one more surgery related to injuries from the crash in April 2023.

ESPN’s Mark Schlabach and The Associated Press contributed to this report.



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FIFA clears Fulham’s Diop, Ajax’s Bounida to play for Morocco

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3 hours ago

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March 27, 2026

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FIFA clears Fulham’s Diop, Ajax’s Bounida to play for Morocco


Mar 27, 2026, 11:55 AM ET

Morocco got FIFA permission to select Fulham defender Issa Diop and Ajax midfielder Rayane Bounida among seven players recruited this month by the 2022 World Cup semifinalist ahead of the next edition in North America, and 16 in total since last March.

The 29-year-old Diop was a France youth and under-21 international and Bounida is among six players aged 20 or under changing eligibility this month to represent Morocco after playing youth games for Belgium or the Netherlands.

All have direct family ties to Morocco that allow them within FIFA rules to change national eligibility, typically when players have not played a senior competitive game for the first country they represented.

Diop and Bounida are in new coach Mohamed Ouahbi’s squad for World Cup warmup games against Ecuador on Friday in Madrid, and Paraguay on Tuesday in Lens, France.

At the 2026 World Cup Morocco is in a group with Brazil, Scotland and Haiti playing games, respectively, near New York, Boston and in Atlanta.

Morocco gets direct entry to the 2030 tournament as a co-host with Spain and Portugal, plus single games to be played in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay.

The Morocco federation, under the leadership of Fouzi Lekjaa, an increasingly influential figure in soccer politics, has actively recruited players from a diaspora in Europe.

The squad which made World Cup history in Qatar as the first semifinalist from Africa included stars such as Hakim Ziyech and Sofyan Amrabat who had been Netherlands youth internationals.

The eligibility changes FIFA approved in March include Bounida and Genk midfielder Saif Eddien Lazar who had represented Belgium.

Players switching to Morocco from the Netherlands were Benjamin Khaderi and Sami Bouhoudane, both aged 18 from PSV Eindhoven, 20-year-old Utrecht defender Oualid Agougil and 18-year-old Ayoud Ouarghi from Feyenoord.

FIFA also approved nine more players changing eligibility from March to December last year, from France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Norway.



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