The Seattle Seahawks defeated the New England Patriots 29-13 to win their second Super Bowl title, as Mike Macdonald’s ferocious defensive lineup, including Devon Witherspoon, Derick Hall and Byron Murphy, ruthlessly defeated Drake Maye.
On the offensive side, Sam Darnold connected with AJ Barner for a touchdown, and Kenneth Walker III rushed for 135 yards. Kicker Jason Myers was perfect, hitting all five of his field goals.
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Uchenna Nwosu capped off a brutal defensive performance by intercepting a Maye pass after a Witherspoon deflection and returning it 45 yards for a key six.
Seattle’s “dark side” defense helped Darnold become the first quarterback in the 2018 draft class to win a Super Bowl, ahead of Josh Allen, Baker Mayfield and Lamar Jackson.
Darnold was labeled a bust, cast aside by two teams and considered expendable by two more, but he proved his doubters wrong as he helped the Seahawks go 17-3.
Seahawks’ Derek Hall forces a fumble from New England Patriots’ Derek Meyer (Getty Images)
Darnold led the league with 20 turnovers during the regular season but has not committed any in three postseason games. He wasn’t particularly sharp against the Patriots’ defense, but he protected the ball and did enough, going 19-of-38 for 202 yards.
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The Seahawks sacked Meyer six times, with Hall and Murphy sacking him twice each. Hall’s strip sack late in the third quarter created a short field, and Darnold connected with Barner on a 16-yard pass to make it 19-0.
Another interception by Julian Love made it 22-7 with 5:35 left in the game.
The Patriots (17-4) punted on their first eight possessions, not including the kneel-down at the end of the first half.
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