Seahawks bully Drake Maye, Patriots on way to dominant Super Bowl LX win

Santa Clara, Calif. • The bullies are back.

The Seattle Seahawks, who rode a dominant defense to their first Super Bowl title 12 years ago, did it again Sunday, suffocating Drake Maye and the New England Patriots in a decidedly defensive 29-13 win at Levi’s Stadium.

Egged on by a raucous, pro-Seattle crowd, the Seahawks sacked Maye six times and picked him off twice, one of which was returned 45 yards for a touchdown by defensive lineman Uchenna Nwosu. The Patriots did not score until the fourth quarter, and Seattle also forced a fumble.

In praising his players, coach Mike Macdonald had to shout to be heard above the din of the fans who gathered in the southeast corner of the stadium.

“They made it happen,” he said of the dream of reaching the Super Bowl win. “They made it come to life. And we won the game.”

The win gives the Seahawks their second Super Bowl title and avenges their agonizing Super Bowl loss to the Patriots 11 years ago. That game ended with an instantly controversial play call from the 1-yard line — a throw into the crowded middle of the defense instead of a handoff to tailback Marshawn Lynch, who had rushed for 102 yards to that point. The ball was intercepted with 20 seconds remaining, an abrupt, stinging defeat felt in Seattle for the last decade.

The Seahawks didn’t need any last-second scores in this one. They forced eight punts and allowed the Patriots to cross the 50-yard line just three times — on their opening drive and twice in the fourth quarter.

New England’s defense was nearly as stingy throughout, especially cornerback Christian Gonzalez, who had fingertip breakups on a pair of passes in the first half, a deep ball to speedster Rashid Shaheed and another to Jaxon Smith-Njigba at the goal-line just before halftime.

Smith-Njigba, who won Offensive Player of the Year last week, was targeted 12 times, catching just four passes for 27 yards. He left the field after a hard tackle in the third quarter and was checked for a head injury but returned in the fourth quarter.

The game didn’t look like it would be a defensive slugfest at the beginning. Seahawks tailback Kenneth Walker III gained 10 yards on the opening snap, and Darnold connected on back-to-back throws to tight end A.J. Barner and receiver Cooper Kupp, setting up a 33-yard Jason Myers field goal three minutes into the contest. Myers also was good from 39 and 41 yards in the first half and accounted for all of the first-half scoring.

The Seahawks’ best offensive weapon was Super Bowl MVP Walker, who finished with 135 yards rushing and another 26 yards receiving. That included runs of 30 and 29 yards early in the second quarter, setting up Myers’ second field goal.

Darnold, meanwhile, completed only 19 of 38 passes for 202 yards. But he was sharp on Seattle’s opening drive of the second half, hitting Shaheed on third down to bring the Seahawks out of the shadow of their own end zone and later picking up 11 yards with his legs. Then, after the defense forced a Maye fumble late in the third quarter, Darnold hit Barner, who’d sneaked through the Patriots defense, for a 16-yard score that put Seattle ahead 19-0.

The game’s stars were Seattle’s young, swarming defenders, who seemed like the second coming of the storied Legion of Boom units that led the team to back-to-back Super Bowl appearances in 2013-14.

That was no coincidence.

Not only did both versions have defense-minded head coaches — Pete Carroll then, Mike Macdonald now — but also team chair Jody Allen and general manager John Schneider made clear to Macdonald when he was hired in 2024 they wanted to retain the loose, brash, defense-first identity Carroll had established.

“That’s something that Jody and John felt strongly about, (something) they wanted to carry over into our team,” Macdonald said in the run-up to Sunday’s game. “And I think that’s really cool. Our spirit is kind of unique to us. And it’s evolved and changed since we took over. But it’s still rooted in the foundation of the Seahawks that a lot of people are familiar with.”

Sunday’s performance underscored how well Schneider and the personnel department have drafted in recent years. The last three drafts included cornerback Devon Witherspoon, safety Nick Emmanwori, defensive lineman Derick Hall and defensive tackle Byron Murphy, all of whom are 25 and under. Hall and Murphy each had two sacks.

The Seahawks also did a masterful job peppering their roster with gray in a few key spots.

Offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak on Wednesday described the team as “a bunch of misfits” who were brought together and jelled. Indeed, many of the primary contributors were castoffs from other squads.

That included receiver Cooper Kupp, a one-time Los Angeles Rams star who was unceremoniously dumped in the offseason and picked up by his home-state team. Kupp led the Seahawks in receiving with six catches for 61 yards. Another ex-Rams player, linebacker Ernest Jones, led the team in tackles with eight.

The Patriots, meanwhile, missed an opportunity for an NFL-best seventh Super Bowl title. Still, they head into the offseason feeling good about the future.

Dominant from 2001 to 2018, the team became mediocre, then bad, after quarterback Tom Brady’s departure in 2020. Experiments with Mac Jones at quarterback and Jerod Mayo at head coach failed.

But the franchise didn’t spend very long on the bottom. First-year head coach Mike Vrabel, recently named the AP Coach of the Year for 2025, gave the team the same gritty, blue-collar spirit he exhibited as a player. Maye led the NFL in completion percentage (72 percent) and passer rating (113.5). And his poise throughout the postseason, especially in snowy, wind-whipped Denver two weeks ago, belied his 23 years of age.

For Darnold, it was a story of redemption.

He won only 13 of 38 starts with the New York Jets, the team that drafted him No. 3 overall in 2018. He began to restore his reputation last year in leading the Minnesota Vikings to a 14-3 record. But when he threw an interception, lost a fumble and was sacked nine times in a playoff loss to the Rams, the critique that he “sees ghosts” when under pressure returned.

Darnold said the biggest lesson learned from the rough seasons in New York was to “flush” bad plays and not be so hard on himself. He said he came to understand that mistakes are part of the game.

“It’s not always going to be perfect,” he said last week. “That’s why everybody loves this game and people call it some of the best reality TV there is.”

On the winning podium, Darnold made sure to thank his offensive line, tight ends, receivers and running backs. But he saved his most enthusiastic praise for his defensive teammates.

“Our defense, man,” he called to the crowd. “Hey, 12s, make some noise for our defense!”