Seahawks bully Drake Maye, Patriots on way to dominant Super Bowl 60 win

Defense won this championship.

Devon Witherspoon, Derick Hall, Byron Murphy, and the rest of Mike Macdonald’s ferocious unit pummeled Drake Maye, and the Seattle Seahawks beat the New England Patriots 29-13 on Sunday to win the franchise’s second Super Bowl.

Sam Darnold threw a touchdown pass to AJ Barner, Kenneth Walker III ran for 135 yards, and Jason Myers set a Super Bowl record by making all five of his field-goal tries.

Walker became the first running back to win the Super Bowl MVP award since Terrell Davis 28 years ago.

Uchenna Nwosu punctuated a punishing defensive performance by snagging Maye’s pass in the air after Witherspoon hit his arm and ran it back 45 yards for a pick-6.

“It’s a one-of-a-kind feeling, bro,” Witherspoon said. “You talk about a group of guys who battle every day, who believe in each other and believe in their coach, you can’t describe this group any better. It’s just a one-of-a-kind feeling. I was just so happy to battle with these guys. We went through a lot, but we believed. All of you all doubters out there who said all that other stuff, you all don’t know what’s going on in this building. We’re one of one over here.”

Seattle’s “Dark Side” defense helped Darnold become the first quarterback in the 2018 draft class to win a Super Bowl, ahead of Josh Allen, Baker Mayfield, and Lamar Jackson.

“To do this with this team, I wouldn’t want it any other way,” Darnold said. “So proud of our guys, our defense. I mean, I can’t say enough great things about our defense, our special teams.”

Labeled a bust, dumped by two teams and considered expendable by two others, Darnold proved his doubters wrong while helping the Seahawks go 17-3.

After leading the NFL with 20 turnovers in the regular season, Darnold didn’t have any in three playoff games. He wasn’t particularly sharp against a solid Patriots defense but protected the ball and made enough plays, finishing 19 of 38 for 202 yards.

“I know we won the Super Bowl, but we could have been a little bit better on offense, but I don’t care about that right now,” Darnold said. “It’s an unbelievable feeling, man. I’m just so happy for the guys in the locker room and the coaches that put in so much effort throughout the whole season.”

The Seahawks sacked Maye six times, including two apiece by Hall and Murphy. Hall’s strip-sack late in the third quarter set up a short field, and Darnold connected with Barner on a 16-yard scoring toss to make it 19-0.

Julian Love’s interception set up another field goal that made it 22-7 with 5:35 left.

The Patriots (17-4) punted on the first eight drives, excluding a kneel-down to end the first half.

“We had a really good year, one that I’m proud of,” New England coach Mike Vrabel said. “But this game wasn’t a reflection of that. We were outcoached and outplayed.”

Down 19-0, Maye and the Patriots’ offense finally got going. He hit Mack Hollins over the middle in traffic for 24 yards and then lofted a perfect 35-yard TD pass to Hollins down the left side to cut the deficit to 19-7.

Tom Brady once led Bill Belichick’s Patriots to the greatest comeback in Super Bowl history, when New England rallied from a 28-3 deficit against Atlanta for a 34-28 overtime victory.

But Maye, who was runner-up to Matthew Stafford for the AP NFL MVP award in the closest race in two decades, didn’t come close. He had a chance to get it closer, but his ill-advised pass into triple coverage was picked by Love, and the Patriots trailed by 15 when they got the ball back with 5:35 left.

Then came Nwosu’s touchdown, a fitting way to cap an overwhelming effort by the NFL’s stingiest defense.

“Definitely hurts. They played better than us tonight,” Maye said.

Maye’s 7-yard TD pass to Rhamondre Stevenson late in the game only made the margin smaller.

The Seahawks took a 3-0 lead on Myers’ 33-yard field goal on the game’s opening drive. Myers connected from 39 and 41 yards to extend the lead to 9-0 at halftime. He was good from 41 on Seattle’s first drive of the third quarter to make it 12-0.

Patriots player of the game

Cornerback Christian Gonzalez made two outstanding plays to prevent potential touchdowns in the second quarter. He raced back and leaped in the air to slap away a deep pass to Rashid Shaheed that could have been a 76-yard TD.

On Seattle’s last drive in the first half, Gonzalez knocked down a pass to All-Pro wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba that would have been a 23-yard TD.

Mills gets a two-for-one sack

Rylie Mills pushed left guard Jared Wilson into Maye and took both of them down on one of Seattle’s sacks.

Bad Bunny shines at halftime

Bad Bunny headlined a visually stunning halftime performance that also featured appearances by Lady Gaga and Ricky Martin. The Grammy-winning Puerto Rican artist sings entirely in Spanish.

Patriots denied a record 7th title

The Patriots failed to win the franchise’s seventh Super Bowl, which would have set an NFL record. They’re tied with the Steelers with six championships.

Vrabel, the AP NFL Coach of the Year, was aiming to become the fifth person to win a Super Bowl as a player and head coach and the first to do both with the same team.

The 23-year-old Maye was trying to become the youngest QB to win a Lombardi Trophy. Ben Roethlisberger still holds that mark.

Kenneth Walker III is running into free agency with a Super Bowl MVP.

Walker capped a prolific postseason with another big performance on the ground to help the Seattle Seahawks beat the New England Patriots 29-13 Sunday night for a championship.

While the defense carried Seattle for much of the postseason, Walker was once again the engine of the offense by rushing for 135 yards and adding 26 receiving yards for his third straight 100-yard game from scrimmage in the postseason. He became the first running back since Terrell Davis 28 years ago to win Super Bowl MVP.

Walker stepped up his game after backfield mate Zach Charbonnet went down with a season-ending knee injury, and it couldn’t have come at a more important time for the Seahawks or a more opportune time for Walker.

The 25-year-old running back is in the final year of his rookie contract and is slated to become a free agent in 2026. Thanks to his playoff run, Walker figures to be in line for a significant pay bump.

Walker gained 413 yards from scrimmage in the three wins for Seattle this postseason. He became the first player to top 100 yards from scrimmage in every playoff game for a Super Bowl champion since Terrell Davis did it in back-to-back seasons in 1997-98 for the Broncos.

While fantasy football owners and Walker were sometimes frustrated that he didn’t carry a bigger load of the offense, especially in the red zone, in the regular season, the job share with Charbonnet did mean Walker was fresh for the playoffs when he was at his best.

Walker averaged less than 15 touches from scrimmage per game in the regular season when he delivered his first 1,000-yard rushing season since his rookie year.

But he averaged nearly 25 touches per game in the playoffs when he showed he’s capable of being a bell-cow back.

Walker started fast with a 10-yard run on the opening snap and had 55 yards on the ground on a field-goal drive later in the first half for the most by any player on one drive in the Super Bowl in 20 years.