Sam Darnold topped his staggering comeback story with once-unthinkable glory, Aden Durde made British NFL historical past and the Seattle Seahawks grew to become Tremendous Bowl champions for the second time as they beat the New England Patriots 29-13 at Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara on Sunday.
It might all so fittingly be Mike Macdonald’s No 1-ranked scoring protection that had the ultimate, defining, masterclass say on the 2025 NFL season as they sacked Drake Maye six instances and intercepted him twice whereas snatching a fumble in a suffocating efficiency towards the second-year Patriots quarterback.
Uchenna Nwosu scored a 44-yard interception return, Darnold threw a landing move to AJ Barner, Jason Myers kicked a Tremendous Bowl-record 5 area targets and Julian’s Love fourth-quarter choose extinguished any menace of a Maye fightback.
Enjoying on his fifth crew and in his eighth season, Darnold entered unlikely soccer immortality because the 2018 third general choose buried his written-off previous and untimely profession obituaries to achieve the top of soccer having signed a $100.5m cope with the organisation final offseason.
Seahawks defensive coordinator and London’s personal Durde was in the meantime turning into the first-ever British-born coordinator to teach at a Tremendous Bowl, the previous London Warriors coach and founding father of the league’s Worldwide Participant Pathway programme taking part in an instrumental position in masterminding Seattle’s rampant ‘Darkish Facet’ protection.
Kenneth Walker starred on the bottom with 135 dashing yards, Derick Corridor and Byron Murphy II recorded two sacks apiece and Darnold barley wanted to name on the NFL’s receiving chief Jaxon Smith-Njigba as protection reigned supreme in California.
Dangerous Bunny made historical past as the primary Latino and Spanish-speaking artist to headline the Tremendous Bowl half-time present as a solo act, lighting up Levi’s as a beacon of each California’s range and the NFL’s dedication to its world audiences.
The Puerto Rican artist closed his efficiency by serenading the flags of Latin America with the phrases “The only thing more powerful than hate is love” written on the massive display screen, an emblem of unity coming throughout a interval of heightened tensions throughout the US amid issues surrounding the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) brokers.
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New England quarterback Drake Maye had his second fumble of the sport, with Seattle’s Uchenna Nwosu taking benefit as he ran in unopposed for the 44-yard landing.
Stats leaders:
Seahawks
- Passing: Sam Darnold, 19/38, 202 yards, 1 TD
- Speeding: Kenneth Walker III, 27 carries, 135 yards
- Receiving: Cooper Kupp, 6 catches, 61 yards
Patriots
- Passing: Drake Maye, 27/43, 295 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs
- Speeding: Drake Maye, 5 catches, 37 yards
- Receiving: Mack Hollins, 4 catches, 78 yards, 1 TD
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New England quarterback Drake Maye one way or the other discovered Mack Hollins for the 35-yard landing, giving the Patriots late hope of a comeback.
Maye’s turnover streak, one in all few blemishes on his in any other case glowing marketing campaign, haunted him on the finish of the third quarter when he was strip-sacked by Corridor to give up possession.
Darnold was one hand to punish his second-year counterpart with a 16-yard landing strike to Barner, who had motioned throughout the formation into a good cut up alignment earlier than sneaking out on a nook route and breaking wide-open to haul in his quarterback’s move for a 19-0 lead with 13.24 left.
Within the first signal of life from the Patriots offense all recreation, Maye attacked a good window over the center of the sphere with a beautifully-placed dagger to Mack Hollins for a 24-yard achieve. He then went again to his favoured splash-play goal on the following play with a back-shoulder fade to Hollins for a 35-yard landing, decreasing the deficit to 19-7 with 12.27 left.
Immediately Maye and Josh McDaniels had summoned a spark, the previous seemingly rising in confidence till catastrophe struck when he was intercepted by Love on the Seahawks’ 27 with 8.49 to play.
He then gift-wrapped a pick-six that may epitomise Seahawks soccer at its full throttle and horrifying greatest, Devon Witherspoon scorching off the sting to incite a Maye fumble that discovered the sharp fingers of Nwosu, who swaggered it again for a 44-yard home name.
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Seattle quarterback Sam Darnold discovered AJ Barner for the 16-yard landing because the Seahawks moved additional forward towards the New England Patriots.
Maye’s closing remarks to a gruelling day was a late comfort landing move to Rhamondre Stevenson, however the injury had lengthy been performed. The 2024 third general choose had been in search of to change into the primary quarterback since Tom Brady in 2001 to win a Tremendous Bowl in the identical yr as his NFL playoff debut.
Charlie Puth vocals had merged with a thunderous Air Pressure flyover, fairly pyrotechnics and a raucous ‘is that this Seattle?’ crowd in an ideal Tremendous Bowl cocktail previous to kickoff. Tom Brady’s arrival amongst fellow Tremendous Bowl MVPs together with Joe Montana had prompted an eruption of Patriots patriotism. Levi’s Stadium was bouncing, brimming with unpredictability, an aura of thriller sweeping Santa Clara forward of a crowning matchup few had projected.
What adopted was what many may need anticipated. A stern, cussed twin of two of the league’s premier defenses, with some bodily Walker working sprinkled in and three Myers area targets giving Seattle a 9-0 lead on the break. Seattle quickly prolonged their kick-heavy cushion by Myers’ 41-yard area aim on the finish of a 10-play drive early within the second half.
The tone for a day of protection was underlined on the ultimate drive of the second quarter when Patriots cornerback Christian Gonzalez broke up a would-be-touchdown move to Smith-Njigba on the sting of the tip zone.
It grew to become his second essential breakup of the primary half after a shocking leap-and-tip to disclaim the surging Rashid Shaheed on one in all few deep photographs throughout the opening two stanzas.
The Patriots have been nearly non-existent on offense throughout a primary half that noticed Maye sacked 3 times and register simply 48 passing yards.
Defeat denied the Patriots an NFL-record seventh Tremendous Bowl title, whereas the Seahawks enacted revenge for his or her loss to New England at Tremendous Bowl 49, which led to Malcolm Butler’s iconic goalline interception.
It closes the curtain on probably the most wide-open NFL seasons in latest reminiscence, the Seahawks catapulting themselves to the highest of the tree on the finish of what, primarily based on odds, had been probably the most unlikely Tremendous Bowl matchup in historical past.
