Throw out everything you think you know about this year's Super Bowl matchup between the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots on paper. The yards, the touchdowns, the turnovers — they all mean nothing. Okay, well, they mean something but a strange historic trend may be pointing to a Seahawks victory in Santa Clara.
Sam Darnold has three letters in his first name. Starting QBs with a three-letter first name are 22-17 all-time in the Super Bowl with 12 different signal callers having lifted the Lombardi Trophy.
- Ben Roethlisberger
- Bob Griese
- Eli Manning
- Jim McMahon
- Jim Plunkett
- Joe Flacco
- Joe Montana
- Joe Namath
- Joe Theisman
- Ken Stabler
- Len Dawson
- Tom Brady
On the other side of this trend, starting QBs with five-letter first names are just 11-14 in the big game. Drake Maye, of course, has a five-letter first name and a four-letter last name. No QB with a last name less than five letters has ever won a Super Bowl. That doesn't bode well for the Patriots.
If nominative determinism means anything to you, Drake Maye is in trouble in the Super Bowl
But wait, there's more. Starting QBs with the initials "DM" are 0-2 in the Super Bowl. That pair of unfortunate passers is Dan Marino (1984) and Donovan McNabb (2004). Drake Maye could make some seriously unusual history with a victory over Seattle and become the first.
- No starting QB w/ a last name less than 5 letters long has won a super bowl
— Jay Cuda (@JayCuda) January 27, 2026
- Starting QBs whose first & last name end in the same letter are 0-6 (.000) in super bowls since the AFC was formed (1970)
- Starting QBs w/ initials DM are 0-2 in the Super Bowl (D.Marino, D.McNabb)
All that being said, these wacky statistics could very well be just interesting patterns. Seven of the 22 victories by three-letter first named QBs were by Tom Brady alone, all within the last quarter century. Though Darnold would be the first to reestablish the trend in the last five attempts.
There's just no good way of predicting the Super Bowl but exploring these quirky coincidences can sometimes lead to a fruitful result. Either way, one team and one QB is going to make some history. Let's all just enjoy it as it happens.
Super Bowl LX will be a rematch with the Seahawks looking to avenge a last-minute, heartbreaking mistake against the Patriots that lost them Super Bowl XLIX.
However, this year's championship will feature a first-time bout between two quarterbacks. Darnold and Maye have led their respective teams honorably and created two worthy narratives for such an occasion. Darnold is proving his 2024 revival with the Minnesota Vikings was all him and no fluke, while Maye is on an MVP-like heater in only his second year in the league.
Their football skills and the talent that surrounds them on their respective rosters have determined the outcomes in each of their games this season, but for those looking for a glimpse of what may be on Feb. 9, every stat, no matter how wild, could point to the winner.