NFL RedZone host and RG3 fuel wild Super Bowl LX conspiracy theory with Drake Maye and Sam Darnold

12 months ago commissioner Roger Goodell was forced to answer questions about a scripted NFL season.

As New England and Seattle prepare to face off in Super Bowl 60 in Santa Clara he might be doing it again in California.

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All sorts of conspiracy theories emerged in the build-up to Super Bowl 59, between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles.

From officials favouring Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and the three-peat chasing Chiefs to the fact that the colors of the logo laid out who was likely to reach ‘The Big Game’.

Nothing was off limits when it came to fans theories.

Of course there is little to such suggestions, and at his address in New Orleans, Goodell was questioned about the Chiefs getting favourable calls.

He said: “This sort of reminds me a little bit of the script. That I write a script, and I have the script for the entire season.”

He went on to describe the ‘script’ as ‘ridiculous’ and praised the league’s officials.

The commissioner may find himself answering more questions when he faces the media on the Monday of Super Bowl week.

As the Chiefs missed the playoffs for the first time in a decade, a wide open 2025 season seemed to have put all the far-fetched thinking of scripts and pre-planned storylines to bed

Until Championship weekend.

As the Patriots and Seahawks emerged from the pack to set up a Super Bowl not many would have predicted, the internet detectives were out in force.

They dug up an image shared by the NFL social media accounts ahead of the Season Opener in September between the defending champions Eagles and the Cowboys.

It featured a representative from all 32 teams, looking and heading towards the Super Bowl LX logo and Levi’s Stadium.

Not much to be seen there, right – all 32 teams, a mix of quarterbacks, receivers and defensive stars – it could not possibly offer a clue as to what lay ahead in this most dramatic of seasons.

But a closer inspection – highlighted by many, including RedZone host Scott Hanson – saw the two men standing right at the front of the image, on the doorstep of the logo and the stadium.

New England second year quarterback Drake Maye, and Seattle’s free agency replacement for Geno Smith, Sam Darnold.

“Yep, this is really from September. Look all the way up front…” Hanson posted, which drew immediate response from fans.

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“Is Scott Hanson conceding the NFL is scripted?!,” one fan replied.

Another took the chance to highlight the players most visible indicated who the NFL were perhaps planning to make the season showpiece.

“You do realize that all the players/teams that most thought were going to make it like burrow mahomes and Barkley are in the back, right?”

While in typical Dallas Cowboys fashion, there was a desperate please to end the team’s 30-year drought: “Damn can you put Dak in the front of the line next year?”

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Former Washington Commanders quarterback also chimed in: “Little did they know that the two guys they put closest to the trophy and furthest from the audience viewpoint would be the two Quarterbacks in the Super Bowl.”

Patriots and Seahawks head for Super Bowl repeat

In truth, not many would have predicted, scripted or even guessed as the two teams left to flight it out for the Lombardi Trophy.

New England are back in the Super Bowl for the first time since Tom Brady departed, their 14-3 record enough to give them the second seed in the AFC and playoff wins over the Los Angeles Chargers and Houston Texans.

They booked their ticket to Levi’s Stadium with a 10-7 win over the Denver Broncos as the weather took over with near-blizzard conditions making offense almost impossible.

It was a different story in Seattle, as the Seahawks won the NFC Championship in high-quality game against the Los Angeles Rams.

In the third meeting of the season between the NFC West rivals, Darnold led his team to the Super Bowl, with a 31-27 win, despite Matthew Stafford’s heroics.

It means Darnold beats out No 1 pick Baker Mayfield, Buffalo superstar Josh Allen and two-time MVP Lamar Jackson in becoming the first quarterback from a stacked 2018 draft class to reach a Super Bowl.

For the Patriots, Mike Vrabel has a chance to do something no-one has ever done in the history of the game – win a Super Bowl with the same team as both a player and a could.

Both storylines that you could say, could not have been scripted.

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