The Seattle Seahawks defeated the New England Patriots 29-13 in Super Bowl 60 thanks to their defense. Mike McDonald, brought in for his defensive expertise, nearly shut down the Patriots in 60 minutes at Levi’s Stadium.
The one who is most dominated? Probably Josh McDaniels.
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The Patriots’ offensive coordinator had few answers as the Seahawks held quarterback and MVP runner-up Drake Maye to the sixth-worst EPA per dropback in a Super Bowl since 2000. New England’s offense as a whole especially struggled on downs late down the field, with a 33% success rate in this game, according to RBSDM.com, and the Seahawks recorded six sacks and three fumbles, including an interception for a touchdown. As Yahoo Sports writer Dan Pizzuta noted, the game plan and personnel formation overall felt ordinary.
Yahoo Sports’ Charles McDonald heard the hype for McDaniels throughout Super Week, and he was named Assistant Coach of the Year during Thursday’s NFL Honors. It’s a regular-season award that no one can take away from him, but Yahoo Sports’ Charles McDonald didn’t hesitate to point out the glaring mismatch on Football 301’s live Super Bowl reaction show.
“I would say Mike McDonald has probably coached two of the top three defenses in football this decade,” McDonald said, also referring to the 2023 Baltimore Ravens. “We’re talking about Josh McDaniels?”
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McDaniels reaches Super Bowl LX with the opportunity to earn his fourth ring as coordinator and solidify his unique legacy as the player with the most rings in history. He didn’t get it, but he still served as an assistant coach six times with Tom Brady, Bill Belichick and the Patriots dynasty from 2001 to 2019.
Part of what makes McDaniels’ legacy unique, however, is that while he excelled as an assistant coach, he was fired twice after two poor head coaching stints with the Denver Broncos and Las Vegas Raiders.
“One of the guys is actually getting his team ready to play,” McDonald said. “And the other guy is having an easy time with an elite quarterback. Because what’s it going to look like when he’s away from his elite quarterback? … It’s the same offense he had with the Vegas Raiders. So why is it so good now? Explain it to me. No one can do that, and that’s why he got beat today.”
Still, McDonald said the Super Bowl didn’t change his view on Meyer or the Patriots’ bright future, as they were top-five picks in the past two drafts and were building to the Super Bowl early.
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“Football 301” host Nate Theis said the Patriots’ next steps include an infusion of offensive talent.
“They need about five people to make it better,” Theis said. “This is a tough offense because you need guys to win. You need [Rob Gronkowskis]. you need to [Julian Edelmans]. You need players with some energy to win some one-on-ones. “
It could also help McDaniels grow as a play-caller. He already has a big advantage at quarterback over Meyer, who is only entering his second season.
“What is [McDaniels] Do? What does he do to help people? What will he do to help his quarterback? “He’s done nothing today, the last three games, the last 17 games,” McDonald said. This is just iso ball.
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“But I’ve been watching Derek Meyer make unbelievable passes all season. There’s a game against the Cardinals that sticks in my mind where he took a curve ball in midfield against Tampa II and threw it between four backs and it went really well. And I heard about Josh McDaniels. Like, what’s going on in my society? Can we watch the game?”
