Heads or Tails? Observer readers predict big game outcomes 

We asked, you spoke.

The 60th installment of “The Big Game” is here, and the City of Vision has voiced its predictions for Super Sunday.

Thanks to a handful of submissions on our “Super Poll”, here is what Rio Rancho predicts:

Coin Toss: Heads

The game-opening 50/50 shot is leaning towards heads, sporting 58.8% of the vote.

However, history does not favor the reader's vote. Tails leads the way 31-28 all-time, thanks to the last seven of 10 big-game flips landing on Tails. This includes the last time the Patriots and Seahawks faced off in the title game, with Seattle choosing tails correctly in February 2015.

For Seattle, they have called tails and won the toss in all three of their Super Bowl appearances, but is it any luck? The Seahawks are 1-2 in Super Bowls overall.

The old saying “Tails Never Fails” may ring true, but once again, it's a 50/50 shot. Heads has been historically favorable to New England, with former captain Matthew Slater calling it in overtime of 2017's Super Bowl 51 and the 2019 AFC Championship game, both of which ended in Patriot victories.

But now, years later, these are both entirely different rosters and staffs. Will they honor Super Bowl history or change things up?

National Anthem: Two Minutes or More

Rio Rancho is looking to buy some more time for its appetizers in the oven this Sunday, suggesting the National Anthem will run long. 52.9% of voters voted for the anthem to run two minutes or longer.

With two minutes being the cutline, six of the last 10 Super Bowl performers went over two minutes with their renditions. Last year's performance, done by Jon Batiste at Super Bowl 59, came in at 1:59.

No National Anthem performance had gone over two minutes til Super Bowl 26. Since then, over a third of them have crossed the mark, with 13 in the last 36 games.

The last time these two teams faced off in the February classic, Idina Menzel finished the anthem in 2:04. Will this year’s Shawn Mendes follow suit?

First Touchdown: Passing Touchdown

It's called a “West Coast” offense for a reason, folks.

58.8% of voters said the first touchdown of the game will be through the air. 

With New England quarterback Drake Maye in the midst of an MVP campaign and the receiving weapons Seattle possesses, such as Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Rashid Shaheed, a game-opening passing score seems likely.

But in the last 10 Super Bowls, only three wide receivers have scored the first touchdown, along with one tight end. A receiver has not opened up the game’s box score since 2022, when Odell Beckham Jr. hauled in a scoring grab for the Los Angeles Rams.

Weighing the other options on these two squads, running backs are a big question mark. Seattle’s Kenneth Walker III and New England’s Rhamondre Stevenson are always threats to run in for six, but are also active in catching balls out of the backfield.

Maye is also not afraid to use his legs to scramble for the goal line, while Shaheed, capable of a big receiving score, can do the same on special teams with a big kickoff return. Seattle’s speedster returned the game-opening kick against San Francisco in the Divisional round.

Are receivers due? Or will they have to wait another year?

Jersey Number of First Touchdown scorer: Even

52.9% of the readers voted even for the first scorer’s jersey number. Let's crunch the numbers:

New England's top regular-season touchdown scorers:

TreVeyon Henderson (10 TDs): Even (#32)

Hunter Henry (7 TDs): Odd (#85)

Rhamondre Stevenson (7 TDs): Even (#38)

Kayshon Boutte (6 TDs): Odd (#9)

Seattle's top regular-season touchdown scorers*:

Jaxon Smith-Njigba (10 TDs): Odd (#11)

AJ Barner (7 TDs): Even (#88)

Kenneth Walker III (5 TDs): Odd (#9)

Cooper Kupp (2 TDs): Even (#10)

(Two of Seattle’s top scorers, Zach Charbonnet and Tory Horton, are injured)

First Turnover: TOSS UP

Our poll’s lone split decision comes in the form of deciding turnovers, 50/50 between whether Seattle or New England will provide the first giveaway.

While this leaves us without a definitive answer, the readers may be onto something.

Seattle quarterback Sam Darnold and the Seahawks led the league in turnovers in the regular season, while for New England, quarterback Maye has turned the ball over five times across three postseason games.

With both quarterbacks nursing minor injuries from weeks prior and capable of big-game nerves, these defenses could be in for a treat. Seattle has been routinely ranked as a top-three defense throughout the year, while the Patriots' defense has saved its best football for postseason play, including forcing five turnovers against the Houston Texans in the Divisional Round.

Both peaking at the right time, which defense will prevail? 

Winning at Halftime: Seattle

These two teams have been a bit sporadic when it comes to scoring patterns and quarter-by-quarter stats, but if you ask the question: “What have you done for me lately?”, this category points towards Seattle.

47.1% of the readers said the Seahawks will be leading at halftime (35.3% to New England, 17.6% for a tied game).  They have scored more points in the first half than the second in three games straight, dating back to the regular season. 

For New England, they have been a bit slow to start throughout these playoffs, such as a sluggish round one versus the Chargers and a tough start in the conference championship in Denver.

A contributing factor to that could be nerves, with Maye being just 23-years-old and only in his second NFL season.

Now, on football’s grandest stage, the more seasoned Seattle roster may have the edge in the early moments.

Bad Bunny’s first Halftime song: "MONACO"

43.8% of readers voted on “MONACO” being the first song of Bad Bunny’s halftime show.

Bad Bunny, who is coming off a big haul of awards at this year's Grammys, is on quite a tear entering 2026. On top of his accolades, he has starred on Saturday Night Live and announced a new tour last year.

Along with him is a loaded catalog of options to choose from, but from the “first song professionals”, they say “MONACO” or “BAILE INoLVIDABLE” (which received 6.3% of our votes) are the two most likely to hit the speakers first.

Longest Field Goal: Under 49.5 Yards

This kicking matchup features two players on different sides of their football journeys. 23-year-old rookie Andy Borregales and 34-year-old 11-year veteran Jason Myers.

Myers is 9-12, and Borregales is 4-4 from 50 yards or more this season, not a helpful stat for the 58.8% of our readers who took the under.

But this is no ordinary kick; this is the Super Bowl. In a 2019 study by CBS Sports, only 54.5% of Super Bowl kickers have been successful from 40 yards or more. A drastic drop-off for a statistic that usually hovers around the 70-80% mark in the regular season. Nerves are real.

Furthermore, teams may be more likely to go for it on fourth down than opt to kick. With the NFL’s biggest prize on the line, six or seven points may go a long way compared to just three.

Super Bowl LX’s Champion: New England

Opposite of our halftime tally, 52.9% of readers predict New England to come away with the victory, implying a second-half comeback for the Patriots.

New England was second in the league in comeback victories in the regular season and postseason with 10, only trailing the Denver Broncos’ 12. Seattle only has two blown leads on the year, so something will have to give.

The Patriots have a history of not coming out to a hot start in the Super Bowl. In their 11 appearances, the franchise has only scored a touchdown in the first quarter once, coming all the way back in 1997.

As mentioned before, the Seahawks have been on a run of early scoring, so if the Patriots want to try and pull off the upset, it may have to come late into the game.

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If you are rooting for a team in the fight, hoping your predictions come true or just waiting for the commercials to come on, we shall see if the City of Vision has the right answers to the football’s biggest test.