Levi’s Stadium (Santa Clara, Calif.) — Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald completed a storybook season by leading the best defense in the NFL to a dominant, 29-13 victory over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LX.
Teams that have been shut out in the first half of Super Bowls are now 0-15 in Super Bowl history.
With the victory, the 38-year-old Macdonald became the third-youngest head coach to win a Super Bowl. Seattle’s defense held second-year New England quarterback Drake Maye thoroughly in check.
The NFL’s Coach of the Year, Mike Vrabel, impressively led the Patriots to a Super Bowl appearance in his first season leading the Patriots but fell short of winning his first Lombardi trophy as a head coach.
Here are my takeaways from the Seahawks’ 2026 Super Bowl win:
1. Kenneth Walker III put the Seahawks’ offense on his shoulders
Entering the Super Bowl, Walker’s 423 yards rushing since Week 16 and the postseason were the second-most in the league. With his backfield mate Zach Charbonnet done for the year due to a knee injury, Walker kept the hard-charging running style going for Seattle against New England.
Walker finished with 135 rushing yards on 27 rushes, adding two receptions for 26 yards.
The Patriots had held opponents to a league-low 71 rushing yards per game during the postseason. However, Walker and the Seahawks methodically gashed the perimeter of New England’s defense for big gains.
Also of note: All but 20 of Walker’s rushing yards came on perimeter runs.
Josh Edelson/AFP via Getty Images.
2. Maye and the Patriots had no answer for the Seahawks’ pressure
Entering Sunday’s game, Maye had been sacked an NFL-high 15 times during the postseason. New England’s inability to protect its young quarterback continued against Seattle’s aggressive defensive front.
The Seahawks sacked Maye seven times, forced him into two interceptions and hit the Pats quarterback eight times.
Seahawks edge rusher Derick Hall finished with two sacks and a forced fumble, and two other Seattle defenders had multiple sacks. Maye finished a close second to Matthew Stafford in the MVP voting. On Sunday night, he was nowhere near as effective against Seattle’s relentless defensive pressure, as the Patriots punted on their first five possessions.
New England punted on eight of its first nine offensive possessions. The one it didn’t was because the first half ended after Maye took a knee. The Patriots’ 10th offensive possession resulted in a turnover.
Entering Sunday’s contest, Seattle defenders generated at least 35 pressures this season, the most in the NFL. What made the Seahawks dangerous was their ability to create pressure without blitzing. Seattle generated a 35.8% pressure rate using just four rushers, No. 3 in the NFL.
Seattle finished with a 51% pressure rate against the Patriots and blitzed just 17% of the time.
3. Sam Darnold didn’t lose the game for the Seahawks
The USC product continued his mistake-free play this postseason. After leading the league with 20 turnovers during the regular season, Darnold finished the playoffs without a turnover in three games.
Darnold was solid, finishing 19-of-38 for 202 yards, with a 16-yard touchdown pass to tight end AJ Barner and no interceptions. He threw behind wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba on a nice pass deflection by Patriots cornerback Christian Gonzalez that would have gone for another touchdown in the first half.
However, Darnold didn’t put the ball in harm’s way; a Super Bowl-record five field goals by kicker Jason Myers and Barner’s touchdown proved enough scoring on offense for Seattle. The Patriots tried their best to speed up Darnold, blitzing 53% of the time, but Darnold got the ball out quickly or used his legs to evade pressure.
Seattle’s playmaking defensive back out of Illinois, Witherspoon finished with four tackles, two sacks and a forced fumble that was returned for a touchdown by linebacker Uchenna Nwosu and four quarterback pressures. New England’s offensive line struggled to pick up Seattle’s pressure scheme that was dialed up by Macdonald.
Per Next Gen Stats, Witherspoon finished with 13 pressures on the season, more than any other primary cornerback in the league.
Along with Witherspoon, cornerback Josh Jobe played well for Seattle, finishing with six combined tackles — including a tackle for loss — and a pass breakup. The Seahawks finished with nine tackles for loss as a team.
4 ½. What’s next?
Could we see another Seahawks-Patriots Super Bowl rematch next year?
The Seahawks aren’t going away after winning a Super Bowl for a second time in the franchise’s 50-year history. Seattle general manager John Schneider has built one of the youngest rosters in the league, with 20 starters or solid contributors selected in the last four drafts.
Darnold is under contract for one more year at a reasonable $27.5 million in 2027. Walker will be a free agent this offseason and wants to come back, so Schneider will have some work to do to keep the Michigan State product in the fold.
Regardless, Seattle should be one of the top teams in the NFL again next season.
The same can be said for the Patriots, who arrived at the big game a year early in Vrabel’s first season. Now, the Patriots have a chance to improve a leaky offensive line, add some playmakers for Maye and build on an already impressive defense.
Both teams have a chance to get back to the Super Bowl because of their head coaches, quarterbacks and supporting casts.
