For this year’s Super Bowl, meant to be the best two teams in the league clashing for 60 minutes, the matchup felt more like one team struggling to keep up with a juggernaut. Many who tuned in were able to watch an electric performance by Kenneth Walker III, who won the Super Bowl MVP award with a staggering 135 yards on 27 carries, which helped propel the Seattle Seahawks to a 29-13 victory over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LX.
Through the first three quarters of the game, it was a defensive battle as the Patriots managed to hold the Seahawks to only 12 points, and the Seahawks held the Patriots to an impressive zero points. At the start of the fourth quarter, it was looking like potentially the first shutout in NFL Super Bowl history as the Seattle defense, nicknamed “The Dark Side,” was hounding Drake Maye the entire game. They had forced him to have three turnovers and eight punts. One of the turnovers turned into a touchdown for the other team. Maye, who was regarded as a top quarterback during the regular season, was not following through on his regular season performance. This was a theme of the playoffs for the Patriots, who needed the aid of the defense in every game to support Maye’s lackluster showings.
The Patriots’ defense allowed a record of 8.7 points per game leading up to the. Super Bowl. To really show how impressive this is, a touchdown is worth seven points and a field goal is worth three points. Meaning, for the last three games, the Patriots’ defense has given up fewer points than a field goal and a touchdown combined. Unfortunately, when the defense stepped up, the offense seemed to dwindle, as the common theme for many games was that the offense would score late into the game once the defense had already put on a good performance. In the end, it came back to bite them in the biggest game of the year. Even with the Patriots’ defense holding the Seahawks to just one touchdown the entire game, the offense could not manage to get anything done until late into the fourth quarter, once the game was already out of reach.
During the halftime show, we saw a spectacular performance by Bad Bunny and some musical cameos from Lady Gaga and Ricky Martin. The show highlighted what it means to be an American and demonstrated the rich culture of Latin America.
The difference in star power on both lineups was the main source of the game’s lopsidedness. The Seattle Seahawks lineup features many players who were regarded highly in their position throughout the year, including Jaxon Smith-Njigba, the Offensive Player of the Year, Keneth Walker III, who was a huge asset to the team during the regular season and Cooper Kupp, who won the triple crown only five years ago. This was alongside a defense which had allowed the least amount of points throughout the season and the second least yards per play. The defense features draft picks like Devon Witherspoon and Byron Murphy II to go alongside developed players like Leonard Williams and Julian Love.
Their defensive line was a constant threat the entire playoffs; their best performance before this Super Bowl game was their National Football Conference divisional matchup against the San Francisco 49ers as they dismantled them in a 41-6 victory.
Moving to the Patriots’ Super Bowl roster: their second-year quarterback Maye with offensive weapons like Rhamondre Stevenson, Stefon Diggs, Kayshon Boutte and Mack Hollins. On the defensive side, the star of the team was Christian Gonzalez. Aside from Maye and Gonzalez, the players that they had brought in to boost this offense had left other organizations or were injured going into the year. The offense happened to be a bunch of rejects from other teams that were cobbled together to form an okay-looking offense, not a team that would make it to the Super Bowl. Even with this reality, Maye and the rest of the Patriots organization can be proud of the fact that they even made it this far. There are teams in the last 20 years with star-studded line ups who have not made the Super Bowl themselves.
Stat Lines:
Drake Maye: 27/43 295 yards 2 Touchdowns, 2 Interceptions
Sam Darnold: 19/38 202 yards, 1 Touchdown, 0 Interceptions
Kenneth Walker: III 27 carries, 135 yards
Cooper Kupp: 6 receptions, 61 yards
Rhamodre Stevenson: 7 carries, 23 yards
Mack Hollins: 4 receptions, 78 yards, 1 touchdown