As the most successful team of the Super Bowl era, the New England Patriots have seen a bit of everything over the years.
From all-time greats to plucky underdogs, New England's Super Bowl opponents have run the gamut.
Where do the Patriots' upcoming Super Bowl LX sparring partners — the Seattle Seahawks — rank among their toughest Super Bowl challengers? Here's our list.
1. 1985 Chicago Bears
These Bears are one of the greatest teams in NFL history, led by arguably the best defense the league's ever seen. The unit featured three first-team All-Pros (defensive end Richard Dent, defensive tackle Steve McMichael, linebacker Mike Singletary) and another three Pro Bowlers (back when that meant something) while holding opponents to a league-low 12.4 points per game.
Running back Walter Payton — another first-team All-Pro — gave Chicago a perfect compliment to the defense, churning out consistent yardage on the ground to keep opposing offenses off the field.
Chicago pitched shutouts in its first two playoff games and handed the Patriots a 36-point loss — 46-10 — in Super Bowl XX, an appropriate final touch to one of the NFL's most dominant seasons.
As for the Patriots, it only got (slightly) easier from here.
2. 1996 Green Bay Packers
Green Bay entered the 1996 playoffs on a roll, winning its final five games of the regular season by an average of 23.4 points. Of the Packers' 13 wins that season, 11 came by double-digits, and that trend continued with blowout wins over the San Francisco 49ers and Carolina Panthers in the playoffs.
Like their divisional rival Chicago Bears, the Packers had the league's top defense when they met the Patriots as a massive favorite in the Super Bowl. But their offense moved through the air as opposed to the ground, with Brett Favre leading the league with 39 passing touchdowns that season.
Green Bay's X-factor — one that may have even given the '85 Bears fits — was Heisman winner and Super Bowl MVP Desmond Howard, who gave the team a dynamic special teams edge. That season (including playoffs), Howard had 1,085 yards and four touchdowns on 67 punt returns.
He burned the Patriots in the Super Bowl, taking a kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown after New England cut Green Bay's lead to six, putting an exclamation point on a 35-21 Packers win.
3. 2001 St. Louis Rams
For the third time in three Super Bowl trips, the Patriots entered the Super Bowl as an underdog. The Rams, known as "The Greatest Show on Turf," were a 14-point favorite. The sizable point spread was justified, and not only because of the Rams' remarkably efficient and explosive offense.
St. Louis also had one of the league's top defenses in 2001, led by first-team All-Pro corner Aeneas Williams. Overall, the unit ranked in the top 10 in total and scoring defense, making it the season's most complete team. But unlike the previous two juggernauts New England faced, this time it slayed Goliath in the 20-17 win, kickstarting the greatest sustained run of dominance the sport's ever seen.
4. 2014 Seattle Seahawks
Led by the "Legion of Boom," Seattle rode into Super Bowl XLIX seeking a second consecutive Lombardi Trophy, and nearly got it before Patriots corner Malcolm Butler made one of the most iconic defensive plays in the Big Game's history, sealing a 28-24 New England win.
The Seahawks had the top-ranked defense for the second year in a row that season and paired it with the league's best rushing attack. Most years, that would have been the perfect recipe for a Super Bowl victory. And it almost was.
5. 2025 Seattle Seahawks
A little over a decade later, the Seahawks are once again a formidable Patriots Super Bowl opponent. This squad might be even more balanced than the 2014 one, although the defense doesn't have quite as high a ceiling. (Few do.)
Wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba gives the Seahawks an elite outside-the-numbers passing option, while head coach Mike Macdonald has the defense playing at a high level. They'll be hard to beat, but New England has arguably already beaten a better Seattle team.
6. 2004 Philadelphia Eagles
The Eagles finally broke through with a Super Bowl appearance after three consecutive NFC championship losses. Wide receiver Terrell Owens made a valiant return from a broken leg to play in the Super Bowl and immediately reconnected with quarterback Donovan McNabb.
The secondary featured first-team All-Pros Brian Dawkins and Lito Sheppard, and the defense held New England scoreless until 1:10 remaining in the first half. Four turnovers — including three in New England territory — ultimately sunk the Eagles, who got revenge 13 years later, in the 24-21 loss.
7. 2016 Atlanta Falcons
Matt Ryan, Julio Jones, and Devonta Freeman led the league's best offense in 2016, but a suspect defense allowed the Patriots to mount the greatest comeback in Super Bowl history from 28-3 down in the 34-28 overtime win. Including the playoffs, 14 of Atlanta's 19 opponents scored at least 20 points in 2016, proving that without the offensive fireworks, the team was unremarkable.
8. 2018 Los Angeles Rams
The Patriots successfully exploited the Rams' glaring 2018 weakness in a 13-3 Super Bowl LIII snoozefest, rushing for 154 yards while averaging 4.8 yards per carry. That game marked the beginning of the end for Rams running back Todd Gurley while also raising fresh doubts over quarterback Jared Goff, who would be traded to the Detroit Lions for Matthew Stafford two years later. In hindsight, head coach Sean McVay's first Super Bowl squad was ahead of schedule.
9. 2007 New York Giants
The Giants spoiled New England's perfect 2007 season thanks to a dominant effort from their defensive front. New York sacked quarterback Tom Brady five times in the 17-14 win, one of the most stunning in Super Bowl history. But the Giants were an improbable champ, needing three road playoff wins — not to mention David Tyree's wild helmet catch — to put a temporary end to the Patriots' reign.
10. 2017 Philadelphia Eagles
These Eagles would be higher had they not lost starting quarterback Carson Wentz three games before the start of the postseason. Backup Nick Foles went on a generational run to bring the Lombardi Trophy to Philadelphia, but his unexceptional career afterward just illustrates how improbable this 41-33 Super Bowl win was. In most simulations, a Bill Belichick-Tom Brady duo would handily beat a Doug Pederson-Nick Foles partnership. We just happen to live in the one where chaos rules.
11. 2003 Carolina Panthers
Jake Delhomme is on the shortlist of the worst quarterbacks to start a Super Bowl this century. He completed just 59.2 percent of his pass attempts and had 19 touchdowns and 16 interceptions during the regular season before playing his best game of the year in the 32-29 loss to New England. While not an end-all be-all metric, the Panthers also only had one first-team All-Pro (defensive tackle Kris Jenkins) this season. Other Patriots Super Bowl opponents have had much more talented rosters.
12. 2011 New York Giants
The 2011 Giants aren't just the worst Patriots Super Bowl opponent; they might be the worst Super Bowl champion ever.
New York gave up more points than it scored during the regular season, entering the playoffs No. 25 in scoring defense and with only three wins in its eight previous games. The Giants had the league's worst rushing attack that season and were also bottom-four against the pass. Nothing about New York in 2011 suggested it was Super Bowl worthy, making its 21-17 triumph even more perplexing.