The Seattle Seahawks were crowned Super Bowl 60 champions on 7 February after defeating the New England Patriots 29-13 at Levi stadium in Santa Clara. The win marks the second title in the franchise’s history, and most importantly vanquished the demons from their dramatic loss in Super Bowl 49 to the Patriots.
The Super Bowl prides itself on pageantry. Sometimes even more than the product on the field. Pregame performances by Coco Jones, Green Day and Charlie Puth were followed by some not so glamorous football. A defensive slugfest ensued with neither Sam Darnold nor Drake Maye able to get a hold on the game. An uneventful first half saw the Seahawks enter the half up 9-0 thanks to three field goals from kicker Josh Myers.
Following the halftime festivities of Bad Bunny – like a good salsa – the second half started slowly and then sprung into life.
The 3rd quarter would only see 3 points once again from the leg of Myers, seeing the Seahawks stroll to a 12-0 lead. The Seahawks ‘Dark Side’ defence would continue their dominance as Derrick Hall would get to Patriots quarterback Drake Maye and force him to fumble. Seattle would recover and 5 plays later Darnold would find with Hawks tight end AJ Barner for the game’s first touchdown.
With much of the 4th quarter still to play and the best comeback in Super Bowl history still in recent memory, belief of a fight back was still in the cards. In the space of a minute Maye and the Pats would back that belief as he found Mack Hollins in the endzone to finally put New England on the board. With the score now poised at 19-7, the Patriots would get the ball back with just over 10 minutes to go. Maye drove his side to midfield only to turn the ball over once again, this time throwing an interception to Julian Love.
The Seahawks would need to settle for another field goal, but their defence would once again do their job. Devon Witherspoon’s pressure forced the ball from the arm of Drake Maye, where he would once again be picked off this time by Uchenna Nwosu who returned it for six, all but confirming the Seahawks as champions. Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker III finished the game with 135 yards and almost capped off his performance with a statement 50-yard touchdown, only for the referees to ruin all the fun and call it back for a penalty on the play.
The Hawks, who when they last won the Super Bowl had the Legion of Boom, now have the Dark Side who forced 3 turnovers and sacked Drake Maye 6 times, capping off what was a dominant season for head coach Mike McDonald’s defence.
With the Lombardi trophy heading back to the Emerald City for the second time, the Seahawks have bucked the trend of needing a star quarterback to win a Super Bowl. Instead relying on the league Offensive Player of the Year Jackson Smith-Njigba, running back Kenneth Walker III and one of the best defences the league has seen.
The worry for many at the start of the week was if the Patriots dynasty may return, but as MacDonald becomes the 3rd youngest head coach to win a Super Bowl maybe we have seen the beginnings of another.
