Relentless Seahawks pummel Patriots to claim their second Super Bowl title | Super Bowl LX

Revenge is a dish best served cold. Although considering that The Seattle Seahawks had to wait 11 years to impose theirs on the New England Patriots, their fans would have been forgiven for moving on.

Not that you’d know it from the way the Seahawks played in Sunday’s Super Bowl, where their super defense stifled the Patriots in a 2015 championship rematch, when New England won an extraordinary victory that has haunted Seattle for years.

Kenneth Walker III, the engine of Seattle’s offense with 135 rushing yards on 27 carries, was named MVP. Sam Darnold completed his long redemption arc from draft pick to champion quarterback by throwing for 202 yards and a touchdown.

“It’s unbelievable. Everything that’s happened in my career,” Darnold said after the game. “But to do it with this team, I wouldn’t have it any other way. I can’t say enough about our defense and our special teams.”

The Patriots won the coin toss and elected to kick off. The Seahawks quickly moved the ball down the field on a 23-yard catch from Super Bowl MVP four years ago, Cooper Kupp. But they stalled at the New England 14-yard line and settled for a field goal to open the scoring.

Then it was the Patriots’ turn. Drake Maye led their offense: at the age of 23 years and 162 days, he was the second-youngest starting quarterback in Super Bowl history. Although he had a brilliant regular season, he struggled in the playoffs, despite excellent defenses, committing five turnovers in three games. But if Maye was nervous, it didn’t show: He completed his first two passes and followed a sack with an 11-yard run. The Seahawks’ defense – their pass rush in particular – is ruthless, however, and they forced Maye out of the pocket on third down. New England’s first possession ended with a punt – the first of eight on the day.

Darnold, like Maye, was playing in his first Super Bowl. He had a tougher road to Santa Clara: He seemed destined to be another talented quarterback ruined by the dysfunction of the team that drafted him in 2018, the New York Jets. But he has revived his career since leaving New York, flourishing under a superior coach at Minnesota and now at Seattle, which he joined this season. There were still doubts about his abilities at the highest level and he completed just three of his first seven passes as the Seahawks scored on their second possession.

Despite the fascinating stories behind the quarterbacks, the game quickly turned into a showcase of two excellent defenses. Rushers were crushed at the line of scrimmage, receivers were smothered by defenders, and Darnold and Maye barely had time to put their feet up and throw. By the end of the first quarter, the teams had put together 99 yards of offense and there were only three points on the board.

Walker clearly had enough of the attrition early in the second quarter, ripping off gains of 30 and 29 yards before the Patriots made some adjustments and shut him down for losses twice. Walker had done enough to put his team within field goal range and Myers made it 6-0.

Seattle’s pass rush continued to impress. On the Patriots’ next possession, Seahawks rookie defensive end Rylie Mills weaved his way through several hundred pounds of New England linemen to bring down Maye, effectively ending the drive. It says a lot that one of the biggest cheers of the day came on a beautiful Michael Dickson punt downed at the two-yard line on Seattle’s next possession.

A basket from Myers ended a first half reserved for defensive sickness. The previous three Super Bowls averaged 25 points in the first half; this one brought back nine. Maye and Darnold had completed 45% of the passes between them and Walker’s 94 rushing yards eclipsed New England’s total offensive production. New England blitzed relentlessly, destabilizing Darnold. On the other side, the Seahawks were going after Will Campbell, the tackle the Patriots drafted last year to protect Maye, who had been sacked three times and looked understandably shaken.

Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels entered Sunday with six Super Bowl wins under his belt. But if he had come up with a brilliant new plan during the Bad Bunny halftime show, it wasn’t evident during New England’s first drive that ended in, yes, a punt. Another Myers basket made it 12-0 before Maye committed the game’s first turnover – a fumble swallowed up by Byron Murphy II – late in the third quarter. Teams – including the Patriots – have come back with larger margins to win the Super Bowl. They also had functional infractions.

The Patriots had to do something drastic. Instead, they gave up the first touchdown of the game. Maye’s fumble had given the Seahawks excellent possession early in the fourth quarter and Darnold quickly found tight end AJ Barner in the end zone for a 16-yard touchdown pass.

This score sparked something within the Patriots. On their next drive, Maye finally had time to find his receivers. Or a receiver. Mack Hollins, a strange companion who arrived for the match dressed as Hannibal Lecter, completed a 24-yard pass followed quickly by a 35-yard touchdown. The Patriots were down 19-7, but were finally showing some life on offense.

It wasn’t enough. Maye threw a terrible pass on his next drive that was intercepted by Seattle safety Julian Love. Any New England momentum was halted, and Myers’ fifth field goal soon after established a Super Bowl record. Another Maye turnover led to another touchdown as Uchenna Nwosu threw a 45-yard interception for the score. Maye’s second touchdown — a pass to Rhamondre Stevensom late in the fourth quarter — added a veneer of respectability to his stat line, but the 29-13 run told the whole story.

“You’re talking about a group of guys that fight every day, believe in each other, believe in their coach,” Seahawks cornerback Devon Witherspoon told NBC after the game. “I mean, you can’t describe this group any better. It’s just a one-of-a-kind feeling.”

The Patriots would have broken a tie with the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday if they had won what would have been their seventh Super Bowl, a modern-era record. But they can be content that the pieces — including Maye, who is too talented to not come back from this performance, an exceptional defense and head coach Mike Vrabel — are in place to have another title run soon, while many of their AFC rivals are in flux or downright turmoil.

As for the Seahawks, 11 years is a long time to wait for redemption – but they’ll take it.