Super Bowl LX got off to a flying start as the Seattle Seahawks took an early lead at Levi’s Stadium. It was a positive start for Mike Macdonald’s team, but what does it mean for Seattle’s championship chances?

Looking back at the 59 previous Super Bowls, all the way back to 1967, there is a slight but notable advantage for the teams who score first. Across those games, the team who scored first goes 38-21. Roughly, the first scorer in a Super Bowl goes on to win the game in about two-thirds of instances.

At Super Bowl LX, the first points were kicked by Jason Myers off the opening drive of the game for Seattle. Over the course of Super Bowl history, a field goal is the most common first score.

History of scoring first at the Super Bowl

The only previous Levi’s Stadium Super Bowl saw the Denver Broncos score first and go on to win the game. That bodes well for the Seattle Seahawks.

Looking back at previous championship games, the largest margin of victory for the team that scored first was 35 points. That has happened twice: Super Bowl XXIV in 1990, when the San Francisco 49ers beat the Denver Broncos 55-10, and in Super Bowl XLVIII in 2014, when the Seattle Seahawks beat the Denver Broncos 43-8.

The smallest margin of victory for the team that scored first was one point, which has happened once. At Super Bowl XXV in 1991, the New York Giants struck first and held on to beat the Buffalo Bills 20-19.

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