SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 08: Devon Witherspoon #21 of the Seattle Seahawks forces a fumble against Drake Maye #10 of the New England Patriots during the fourth quarter in Super Bowl LX at Levi's Stadium on February 08, 2026 in Santa Clara, … (Thearon W. Henderson / Getty Images)
The "Dark Side" turned the Super Bowl into a very scary place for Drake Maye and the New England Patriots.
The Seahawks' defense tormented Maye into three turnovers, Ken Walker III carved up the Patriots' defense for 135 yards, and Seattle earned its second Lombardi Trophy with a convincing 29-13 rout of New England.
It wasn't Sam Darnold who was seeing ghosts, but Maye who was downright spooked. The league MVP runner-up Maye missed open throws amid heavy pressure from Seattle's defense. Maye was sacked six times, hit 11 times, and turned the ball over three times as New England's offense proved incapable of cracking the Seahawks.
Left tackle Will Campbell will be seeing Seahawks logos in his nightmares for months, as the rookie tackle was just outclassed by Seattle. NFL NextGen Stats attributed 14 quarterback pressures allowed by Campbell alone – the most of any player in any game this season.
The Patriots were held scoreless for three quarters, punting eight times with a lost fumble and the end of the first half on 10 total possessions. They were held to just 78 total yards of total offense through three quarters as Mike Macdonald had his defense humming.
Derick Hall's strip-sack of Maye set up A.J. Barner's 16-yard touchdown that gave Seattle a 19-0 lead early in the fourth quarter to turn the game into a rout.
After a 35-yard touchdown pass from Maye to Mack Hollins sparked hopes of a late rally for New England, the light was extinguished by the Dark Side. Julian Love and Uchenna Nwosu intercepted Maye on consecutive drives, with Nwosu cruising into the end zone for a 45-yard touchdown for a finishing flourish for Seattle.
Walker earned MVP honors, becoming the first running back since Terrell Davis in 1998 to take home the award. The free agent-to-be had the most rushing yards of any running back this season against New England, and tied Thurman Thomas for the eighth-most rushing yards in Super Bowl history.
NextGen Stats had Walker responsible for nine missed tackles, resulting in 79 yards after misses. No player had managed to gain more than 70 yards in a game this season where Milton Williams was healthy for New England. Walker blew past that mark, surpassing Derrick Henry's 128 yards for the most against the Patriots in any game this season.
Meanwhile, Rhamondre Stevenson and TreVeyon Henderson managed nothing on the ground to take pressure off of Maye. The duo combined for just 42 yards on 13 carries with no runs gaining more than nine yards.
It was complete domination.
The Patriots defense still managed to keep New England in the game with key red zone stops until the turnovers spilled over. New England forced Seattle to settle for five Jason Myers field goals on drives that stalled inside the Patriots' 25-yard line. Myers set a new Super Bowl record with five made field goals, breaking a four-way tie, with kicks of 41 (twice), 39, 33 and 26 yards.
While Maye was under siege, Darnold delivered a professional effort for Seattle.
Darnold completed just 19-of-38 passes for 202 yards and a touchdown, but it was the fourth straight game without a turnover. And in a game where New England looked incapable of scoring for most of the night, the only thing that could kick-start the Patriots was a backbreaking turnover.
It never came, and Seattle became the first team in Super Bowl history to win a title without committing a single turnover in the playoffs.
Maye set a Super Bowl record for passing yards in a single quarter, throwing for 235 yards and two touchdowns in the fourth quarter. But it was utterly meaningless as Seattle put the finishing touches on their coronation.
Mike Macdonald became the third-youngest Super Bowl winning coach in NFL history, and the first to be a team's primary defensive play-caller in the process. Macdonald stuffed the Patriots in a locker with a defense up to the task of writing history alongside the Legion of Boom.
Defense reigns supreme once again for the Seahawks atop the NFL mountain.
Notes:
– Drake Maye was sacked six times by the Seahawks and was sacked 21 times in the playoffs, setting a new record for most sacks in a single postseason. Derick Hall (two), Byron Murphy II, Devon Witherspoon and Rylie Mills had the six sacks for Seattle as the group caved in New England's offensive line and kept Maye uncomfortable with blitzes.
– After leading the NFL with 20 turnovers during the regular season, Sam Darnold was terrific in four straight outings for Seattle. Beginning with the Week 18 game for the NFC West title against the San Francisco 49ers, Darnold completed 76-of-117 passes (65 percent) of his passes for 870 yards with five touchdowns and no interceptions or lost fumbles.
– Michael Dickson delivered an exceptional punting performance for Seattle as well. Dickson had seven total punts for 335 total yards for a 47.9 average with three punts downed inside the Patriots 20-yard line. Two punts were returned by Marcus Jones for a total of four yards. The only positive yardage punt return for New England ended up losing yards due to a penalty. The Patriots had to start drives at their own 2-, 4-, and 6-yard line due to Dickson's punts.
The Source: Information in this story came from FOX 13 Seattle reporting.
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