<Li> The Seattle Seahawks were the most recent defending champions to return to the title game the following year, Super Bowl XLIX, where they faced the New England Patriots . The Seahawks built a ten - point lead to end the third quarter 24 - 14 . Previously, no team in Super Bowl history had ever overcome a fourth - quarter deficit of more than seven points . The Patriots, however, rallied with two touchdowns to take a 28--24 lead with roughly two minutes left in the game . Seattle threatened to score in the final moments, driving the ball to New England's 1 - yard line . With 26 seconds remaining in the game, they decided to pass the ball in a highly scrutinized play that resulted in Patriots rookie Malcolm Butler making a game - saving interception from Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson . However, the game was not decided at this point since New England was backed up against its own end zone, so if Patriots quarterback Tom Brady went too far back before kneeling his team would give up two points and have to kick the ball back to the Seahawks, who would simply need to get into field goal position for a chance to win . However, Seahawks defensive lineman Michael Bennett was drawn across line of scrimmage and flagged for encroachment which penalized Seattle five yards and moved the ball to the New England six - yard line, ending Seattle's hope of a comeback . </Li> <P> The home field curse affects the host team of the Super Bowl . From 1966--2011 (excluding the six Super Bowl games held in a stadium without a professional team), the Super Bowl host team had a record of 249--364--2 . In those 40 seasons, the host teams had 11 winning seasons, four split seasons, and 25 losing seasons . Mathematically, the probability of that many losing seasons or more occurring by chance (assuming a 50 percent chance of having a losing season (disregarding . 500 seasons)) is 7.69 percent . It should be noted, however, that in contrast to the other major North American professional sports leagues (Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association, and the National Hockey League), whose championship round is co--hosted by the two competing teams that season (which gives a higher probability that both teams will have a winning season, to qualify for the playoffs), the Super Bowl host is selected several years before it is played, without regard to the teams that play it (modern stadium amenities and weather are the two most prominent criteria). The only other major professional sports league in North America using this format is the Canadian Football League, where the Grey Cup host city is selected ahead of time . However, unlike the NFL, there have been multiple teams who have won the Grey Cup at home; plus, the CFL has only nine teams, making the odds of such an occurrence greater . </P> <P> So far no team has yet managed to reach the championship game in their home stadium, or even come close . Only two NFL teams have reached the Super Bowl hosted in their home market: the San Francisco 49ers, who played Super Bowl XIX in Stanford Stadium, rather than Candlestick Park, and the Los Angeles Rams, who played Super Bowl XIV in the Rose Bowl, rather than the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum . Besides those two, the only other Super Bowl venue that was not the home stadium to an NFL team at the time was Rice Stadium in Houston: the Houston Oilers had played there previously, but moved to the Astrodome several years prior to Super Bowl VIII . The Miami Orange Bowl was the only AFL stadium to host a Super Bowl and the only stadium to host consecutive Super Bowls, hosting Super Bowl II and III . MetLife Stadium, which hosted Super Bowl XLVIII, is the home stadium of two NFL teams: the New York Giants and the New York Jets . </P> <P> In a way, not having the home team play in the Super Bowl is actually beneficial to the host city as it would receive more out - of - town visitors than if the host team was playing in the Super Bowl . Combined with the increased costs of airfare and hotel during the event, the economy would see a bigger revenue boost as a larger portion of attendees would be local if the host team participated . The host team (s) of a Super Bowl do receive VIP section (s) in the stadium during the game; for instance New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning was in the luxury suite of his team's home MetLife Stadium during Super Bowl XLVIII, which saw the Denver Broncos (quarterbacked by his brother Peyton Manning) lose 43--8 to the Seattle Seahawks . </P>

Has a team ever played superbowl at home