Seahawks ride their 'Dark Side' defense to a Super Bowl title, pounding the Patriots 29-13

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Defense won this championship.

Devon Witherspoon, Derick Hall, Byron Murphy and the remainder of Mike Macdonald’s ferocious portion pummeled Drake Maye, and the Seattle Seahawks bushed the New England Patriots 29-13 connected Sunday to triumph the franchise’s 2nd Super Bowl.

Sam Darnold threw a touchdown walk to AJ Barner, Kenneth Walker III ran for 135 yards and Jason Myers acceptable a Super Bowl grounds by making each 5 of his field-goal tries.

Walker became the archetypal moving backmost to triumph the Super Bowl MVP grant since Terrell Davis 28 years ago.

Uchenna Nwosu punctuated a punishing antiaircraft show by snagging Maye’s walk successful the aerial aft Witherspoon deed his limb and ran it backmost 45 yards for a pick-6.

“It’s a one-of-a-kind feeling, bro,” Witherspoon said. “You speech astir a radical of guys who conflict each day, who judge successful each different and judge successful their coach, you can’t picture this radical nary better. It’s conscionable a one-of-a-kind feeling. I was conscionable truthful blessed to conflict with these guys. We went done a lot, but we believed. All of you each doubters retired determination who said each that different stuff, you each don’t cognize what’s going connected successful this building. We’re 1 of 1 implicit here.”

Seattle’s “Dark Side” defence helped Darnold go the archetypal backmost successful the 2018 draught people to triumph a Super Bowl, up of Josh Allen, Baker Mayfield and Lamar Jackson.

“To bash this with this team, I wouldn’t privation it immoderate different way,” Darnold said. “So arrogant of our guys, our defense. I mean, I can’t accidental capable large things astir our defense, our peculiar teams.”

Labeled a bust, dumped by 2 teams and considered expendable by 2 others, Darnold proved his doubters incorrect portion helping the Seahawks spell 17-3.

After starring the NFL with 20 turnovers successful the regular season, Darnold didn’t person immoderate successful 3 playoff games. He wasn’t peculiarly crisp against a coagulated Patriots defence but protected the shot and made capable plays, finishing 19 of 38 for 202 yards.

“I cognize we won the Super Bowl, but we could person been a small spot amended connected offense, but I don’t attraction astir that close now,” Darnold said. “It’s an unbelievable feeling, man. I’m conscionable truthful blessed for the guys successful the locker country and the coaches that enactment successful truthful overmuch effort passim the full season.”

The Seahawks sacked Maye six times, including 2 apiece by Hall and Murphy. Hall’s strip-sack precocious successful the 3rd 4th acceptable up a abbreviated tract and Darnold connected with Barner connected 16-yard scoring flip to marque it 19-0.

Julian Love’s interception acceptable up different tract extremity that made it 22-7 with 5:35 left.

The Patriots (17-4) punted connected the archetypal 8 drives, excluding a kneel-down to extremity the archetypal half.

Down 19-0, Maye and the New England discourtesy yet got going. He deed Mack Hollins implicit the mediate successful postulation for 24 yards and past lofted a cleanable 35-yard TD walk to Hollins down the near broadside to chopped the shortage to 19-7.

Tom Brady erstwhile led Bill Belichick’s Patriots to the top comeback successful Super Bowl history, erstwhile New England rallied from a 28-3 shortage against Atlanta for a 34-28 overtime victory.

But Maye, who was runner-up to Matthew Stafford for the AP NFL MVP grant successful the closest contention successful 2 decades, didn’t travel close. He had a accidental to get it closer, but his ill-advised walk into triple sum was picked by Love and the Patriots trailed by 15 erstwhile they got the shot backmost with 5:35 left.

Then came Nwosu’s touchdown, a fitting mode to headdress an overwhelming effort by the NFL’s stingiest defense.

Maye’s 7-yard TD walk to Rhamondre Stevenson precocious successful the crippled lone made the borderline smaller.

The Seahawks took a 3-0 pb connected Myers’ 33-yard tract extremity connected the game’s opening drive. Myers connected from 39 and 41 yards to widen the pb to 9-0 astatine halftime. He was bully from 41 connected Seattle’s archetypal thrust of the 3rd 4th to marque it 12-0.

Patriots subordinate of the game

Cornerback Christian Gonzalez made 2 outstanding plays to forestall imaginable touchdowns successful the 2nd quarter. He raced backmost and leaped successful the aerial to slap distant a heavy walk to Rashid Shaheed that could person been a 76-yard TD.

On Seattle’s past thrust successful the archetypal half, Gonzalez knocked down a walk to All-Pro wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba that would person been a 23-yard TD.

Mills gets a two-for-one sack

Rylie Mills pushed near defender Jared Wilson into Maye and took some of them down connected 1 of Seattle’s sacks.

Bad Bunny shines astatine halftime

Bad Bunny headlined a visually stunning halftime show that besides featured appearances by Lady Gaga and Ricky Martin. The Grammy-winning Puerto Rican creator wholly successful Spanish.

Patriots denied a grounds 7th title

The Patriots failed to triumph the franchise’s seventh Super Bowl, which would person acceptable an NFL record. They’re tied with the Steelers with six championships.

AP NFL Coach of the Year Mike Vrabel was aiming to go the 5th idiosyncratic to triumph a Super Bowl arsenic a subordinate and caput manager and the archetypal to bash some with the aforesaid team.

The 23-year-old Maye was trying to go the youngest QB to triumph a Lombardi Trophy. Ben Roethlisberger inactive holds that mark.

___

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL

Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This worldly whitethorn not beryllium published, broadcast, rewritten oregon redistributed without permission.