The Seahawks won Super Bowl LX in convincing fashion Sunday night, beating the Patriots 29-13 behind an all-time great defensive performance.
What were the plays that defined the game? Here are the four biggest ones:
1. The first turnover
The Seahawks harassed Patriots quarterback Drake Maye all game with their defensive front and blitzers — he was sacked six times — but it wasn’t until the end of the third quarter that Seattle broke through for a takeaway.
Defensive end Derick Hall strip sacked Maye and the fumble was recovered by fellow lineman Leonard Williams, setting up the game’s first touchdown drive. It gave Seattle a 19-0 lead early in the fourth quarter.
2. The completion that woke up Patriots’ offense (temporarily)
Maye was having a miserable day through 47 minutes of game time.
When he wasn’t under heavy duress in the pocket, he misfired on the (few) opportunities available to him downfield. He was clearly rattled, and his offensive line was severely outmatched. But with 12:56 left in the fourth quarter, with New England facing a second-and-4 from its own 41, the MVP runner-up completed a pass to wide receiver Mack Hollins in a razor tight window — a sliver of space in the Seahawks’ zone coverage in the middle of the field.
It marked the Patriots’ longest play of the game to that point, setting up their lone touchdown on the very next play — a 35-yarder from Maye to Hollins down the left side of the field.
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3. The takeaway that took the life out of New England
In their first drive after that touchdown, the Patriots seemed to finally have an offensive rhythm, despite being backed up in the shadow of their own end zone. They moved the sticks twice, on track to eat into what was a 19-7 deficit early in the fourth quarter. But it all went wrong near midfield, when a poorly-placed deep pass from Maye was intercepted by safety Julian Love.
That pick ended the brief moment that the Patriots’ offense had offensive momentum. Seahawks linebacker Uchenna Nwosu had a pick-six off Maye on New England’s very next possession, Seattle’s third and final takeaway.
4. Incredible PBU from Gonzalez
Early in the second quarter, Sam Darnold was looking for speedster Rashid Shaheed deep, but Patriots cornerback Christian Gonzalez flew in for one of the more impressive pass breakups you’ll see.
The Pro Bowler trailed Shaheed by about a step but timed his jump beautifully and had his arm outstretched to bat the ball away before it could reach Shaheed’s hands.
It was a massive play in the first half, as a completion there would’ve set up the Seahawks just outside the red zone.
Seattle still wound up getting points out of that drive, as Jason Myers drilled a 39-yard field goal to give the Seahawks a 6-0 lead. But Gonzalez’s play represented the incredible effort we saw from him (and other members of the Patriots’ defense) to keep Seattle in the game. Gonzalez had two other pass deflections, including one that prevented a Jaxon Smith-Njigba touchdown.
