The Super Bowl is the biggest single game in American sports, the most highly anticipated game of the season that features the two best teams in the NFL. These two teams, who’ve already dominated their divisions and conferences, faced off to crown a new champion. These two juggernauts of teams were none other than the Seattle Seahawks, representing the NFC and the New England Patriots, who represented the AFC. The Seahawks earned the number one seed in the NFC after a stellar 14-3 season, while the Patriots earned the two seed with the same 14-3 record in the AFC. The Seahawks were the most favored team to win the Super Bowl during pre-playoff predictions, followed by the Broncos, which is the team who was defeated by the Patriots in the AFC Championship the week prior.
The Super Bowl began with a strong first drive for the Seahawks, which ended in a 33-yd FG by K Jason Myers. The Patriots offensive struggles this playoffs continued, as they were unable to score in their first few drives, ending in three straight punts. Both teams did not score by the end of the first quarter, however, two strong runs by Seahawks RB Kenneth Walker III, resulting in 59 straight rushing yards. This drive resulted in another FG by Myers, putting the Seahawks up 6-0. At this point, it was clear that this game would be a battle of the two defensive powerhouses in these teams. Drake Maye and the Patriots offense were getting completely shut down by the end of the half, with Maye taking three sacks. The Seahawks managed to score yet another FG in the last few seconds.
If the Patriots wanted to make a comeback in this game, they would need to solve their offensive struggles, while keeping up the tempo on defense. The second half turned out to be way more chaotic as we would finally see the end to the touchdown-less Super Bowl. The Patriots punted on their first drive of the half, which resulted in the fourth FG by Jason Myers the next possession. By the end of the third quarter, Drake Maye got the ball punched out of his hands by Byron Murphy II, putting Seattle in prime TD-scoring position near the goal line. Sam Darnold threw a 16-yd wide open TD pass to TE AJ Barner, putting them up 19-0.
The game was looking bleak for New England until Drake Maye threw a beautifully placed ball to Mack Hollins for a 35-yd TD catch with about 12 minutes left in the game. The Seahawks punted the possession after, giving the Patriots a chance to keep the comeback going, however, Drake Maye immediately threw an interception after a miscommunication with WR Kyle Williams. The Seahawks drained around four minutes of playtime as Kenneth Walker III continued to run all over the depleted Patriots defense. This possession led to Jake Myer’s fifth and final FG of the game, making the score 22-7. In Drake Maye and the Patriots final stand, he threw yet another interception, which ended up being a 45-yd Pick-Six to finish off the Pats. In one final possession for Drake Maye, he ended up scoring another touchdown, but to no prevail as the game was about finished after a failed two-point conversion and failed onside kick.
The Seattle Seahawks finished the game off, winning Super Bowl LX, crushing the Patriots on both the offensive, and defensive end. This win proved an amazing career turnaround for QB Sam Darnold, who was drafted to Jets and struggled in the NFL for many years, before finding his revival with the Vikings and Seahawks. Darnold was the first QB in the stacked 2018 draft class, with players such as former MVPs Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson.
Kenneth Walker III ended up winning Super Bowl MVP with 161 total yards and two receptions. Now the question remains, will the Seahawks repeat next year, or will there be a new champion to take the Lombardi Trophy from them?
