Rapid Reaction: Seahawks ‘Darkside’ Defense Handcuffs Patriots in 29-13 Super Bowl LX Victory
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Seattle Seahawks defensive tackle Rylie Mills (98) sacks New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (10) during the second quarter in Super Bowl LX at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images [/caption]
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Orchestrating one of the most dominant defensive performances in Super Bowl history, the Seattle Seahawks forced eight punts on their first nine defensive series, locking down the New England Patriots in historic fashion to secure a 29-13 victory and bring the second Lombardi Trophy to the Pacific Northwest.
Overcoming an uncharacteristically inaccurate performance from Sam Darnold, the Seahawks found more than enough offense behind AJ Barner’s 16-yard touchdown catch off a turnover, Ken Walker III’s 135 rushing yards, and five field goals from kicker Jason Myers. A suffocating defensive effort by coach Mike Macdonald’s squad bottled up and frazzled Patriots quarterback Drake Maye, with outside linebacker Derick Hall leading the charge sacking him twice and forcing a fumble that defensive tackle Byron Murphy II recovered in New England territory and Uchenna Nwosu returning an interception for a touchdown in the fourth quarter to start the celebration.
On top of the NFL world for the first time in 12 seasons, here are five takeaways from a historic win at Levis Stadium:
1. Earning himself big bucks on the biggest stage, Ken Walker III saves the day for a lethargic Seahawks offense.
Scheduled to become a free agent next month, finishing off a remarkable stretch run that catapulted Seattle to an NFC West title and a Super Bowl berth, Walker rocketed through and wiggled his way around the Patriots’ defense all night long. Leaving defenders in the dust behind him and grasping for Bay Area air as the featured attraction on offense for Klint Kubiak, he got off to a sizzling start with 94 rushing yards in the first half alone. After kicking off the contest with a 10-yard run on a bounced inside zone concept, he scorched New England with a 30-yard run on a shotgun sweep and a 29-yard scamper behind a big block from center Jalen Sundell in a three-play span, setting up Myers’ second field goal to go up 6-0.
Continuing to make his mark in the second half and having already hit the 100-yard plateau with more than nine minutes left in the third quarter, Walker added a scintillating 20-yard catch and run on a throwback screen to aid another field goal drive. Moments after Julian Love picked off Maye on what amounted to an arm punt, Walker ripped off 14 and 10-yard runs on the first two plays of the ensuing drive, managing to slither through multiple tackles on the second run and turn nothing into a big play to set up a fifth Myers field goal. By the time the confetti started falling, he had rushed for 135 yards and five yards per carry even with a long touchdown called back late on a holding penalty, putting his stamp on the MVP conversation even without finding the end zone for a third straight playoff game.
2. Making amends for a mostly shaky outing, Darnold delivered in key moments in the fourth quarter to cement the title.
Following up a historically efficient NFC Championship Game performance, Darnold wasn’t near as sharp in his first career Super Bowl, and accuracy woes were part of the equation early on. Though he hooked up with AJ Barner for a 15-yard pass and then benefited from an outstanding catch along the sidelines by Cooper Kupp to push Seattle deep into New England territory, he misfired on a couple of poor throws in the red zone, forcing the offense to settle for the first of many Myers field goals. On the ensuing drive, after masterfully evading an untouched blitzer coming off the edge, he tried to connect with Jaxon Smith-Njigba downfield on what would have been an 86-yard touchdown, only for the throw to sail on him after he got hit by an oncoming pass rusher and force a Michael Dickson punt. He finished the first half completing under 41% of his passes, enduring one of his worst first halves all year long.
Once the second half kicked off, Darnold’s accuracy struggles continued, as he again failed to execute in the red zone on Seattle’s first possession of the third quarter with two misfired throws to Kupp that were wide open. Pressure seemed to impact his release more than usual, but fortunately for the Seahawks, the quarterback stepped up when they needed him to. In the aftermath of a strip sack by Hall that Murphy recovered in Patriots’ territory on the final play of the third quarter, Darnold linked up with Kupp on 3rd and 9 for a nine-yard gain, getting just enough yardage to move the chains. On the very next play, he dropped a dime to Barner on a corner route for a 16-yard touchdown that increased the advantage to 19-0 and sent a largely Seattle-partisan crowd into a frenzy. Though his completion rate only improved to 50% for the night, he didn’t have any turnovers, and he made just enough throws down the stretch to seal the massive win.
3. Unlikely sources fuel a smothering Seahawks pass rush that ambushed Maye from start to finish.
Prior to Sunday’s big game, Mike Macdonald had created nightmares for every young quarterback he has faced over the past calendar year, as Seattle went 6-0 against signal callers with three or fewer years of experience in the regular season. The defensive mastermind and “Darkside” defense continued that trend haunting Maye, as the Seahawks made life a living hell for the second-year talent right out of the gate and finished with six sacks. After grabbing two first downs on the opening series, Derick Hall ambushed tackle Will Campbell with a nasty strong arm move before shedding the blocker and bringing down Maye from behind for a 10-yard loss that led to a punt. Getting his versatile defensive backs involved on the next series, Macdonald drew up a blitz for Witherspoon and Nick Emmanwori on 3rd and 15 and the former came through untouched for his first sack of the postseason to force a second straight punt. Even rookie Rylie Mills got in on the action one possession later, bullying guard Jared Wilson and tackling both the blocker and Maye for his first career sack.
Not taking the foot off the pedal at all in the second half, Macdonald kept mixing in blitzes while the front line feasted on a young Patriots line, lead by Hall’s career day. The third-year pass rusher caved in on Maye on a 3rd and 6 pass play as the quarterback climbed the pocket, dishing out the perfect punch to knock the ball out of his hands for a fumble and Murphy - who had two sacks of his own on the night - dove on the loose ball for the first turnover of the night to lead to Barner’s touchdown. The Patriots responded with a lightning fast touchdown drive to finally get on the board, but the Seahawks would get the last laugh later in the quarter when Witherspoon came untouched on the blitz for a second time and smashed Maye, whose pass landed in the hands of Nwosu for a 45-yard interception return that all but sealed the outcome with the score moving to 29-7 with 4:27 to go.
4. Turnovers swung the gate open for a tight contest to transition into laugher territory in the final 20 minutes of action.
For the vast majority of Sunday’s contest, though it wasn’t the most visually appealing football game by any means with both offenses scuffling throughout the first half and into the third quarter, the score remained tight with each defense pitching impressive performances. Despite having far more success moving the ball overall, the Seahawks couldn’t maximize on their promising drives in the first half, leading to just three Myers field goals and a 9-0 advantage as the Patriots kept well within striking distance. Before Hall struck late in the third quarter, the lead only sat at 12 points as Seattle again failed to finish one quality drive in the end zone and a New England touchdown would have made things very interesting in the early stages of the final quarter.
But the floodgates came open on the aforementioned play by Hall, who ate Campbell for lunch throughout the nice with a blend of power and explosive burst. His awareness to hammer down on the football at Maye scanned the field while stepping up in the pocket led to a fantastic punch out and set up Seattle’s lone offensive touchdown drive. From there, Love made the easiest interception imaginable on a shockingly bad throw by Maye, running it back past midfield and setting up Myers for his fifth and final field goal. Putting the cherry on top that made hoisting the Lombardi Trophy inevitable, Witherspoon’s rapid fire blitz with no blocker in the backfield to pick him up sped up the quarterback and he couldn’t unload the ball with any velocity, making for an easy pick six for Nwosu on the play of the game.
5. Continuing a year-long theme with an exclamation mark, Seattle’s special teams units outperformed the opposition in all phases.
Ranked third overall in Expected Points Added (EPA) on special teams at the end of the regular season, the Seahawks have been an elite special teams unit from start to finish, which may have been the most important improvement jumping from 10 wins a year ago to Super Bowl champion. Perfect splitting the uprights, Myers had an early beat on the MVP nod nailing three field goals in the first half and hit all five of his attempts along with an extra point. Speedy receiver Rashid Shaheed didn’t have any big returns as he did earlier in the playoffs, but still had an impressive 10-yard punt return that was vastly superior to any of the Patriots’ attempted returns.
If there was a true MVP on special teams for Seattle, however, Dickson deserves the honors. One of the premier punters in football for nearly a decade, he consistently put the Patriots in a rough spot with coffin corner punts that couldn’t have been executed any better. On three different occasions, he pinned the opposition inside their own five-yard line, which contributed to New England punting on eight of its first nine possessions in what nearly became the first shutout in Super Bowl history. Playing his part in winning the field position battle, his presence was as important as anyone giving the defense long fields to work with.
