Led by the “Dark Side” defense, the Seattle Seahawks overwhelmed the New England Patriots in a 29-13 Super Bowl victory on Feb. 8.
Seattle’s pass rush wreaked havoc all night, sacking Drake Maye six times, one shy of a Super Bowl record. Byron Murphy II and Derick Hall each recorded two, while Rylie Mills and Devon Witherspoon added one apiece.
On the offensive side, Sam Darnold threw for 202 yards and a touchdown, but Kenneth Walker stole the spotlight. The Super Bowl MVP ran the ball 27 times for 135 yards, including 30- and 29-yard scampers in the second quarter. Despite having no touchdowns, Walker put the Seahawks in scoring position multiple times, allowing kicker Jason Meyers to accumulate 17 points, setting the record for the most points by a single player in Super Bowl history.
New England had few answers throughout the night, entering the fourth quarter with a mere 60 passing yards. The offense, however, found life in the fourth quarter. Maye threw for 235 yards and two touchdowns but ultimately fired two critical interceptions to seal the game.
During the trophy presentation, Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald gave the glory to God, saying, “I believe God called me to be a coach and I listened to Him, and I thank Him.” He went on, “We are incredibly blessed to be Seahawks, to be 12s, and now we’re world champions.”
Macdonald began his NFL coaching career as an assistant with the Baltimore Ravens in 2014, before testing the college waters at the University of Michigan in 2021. After winning the Big Ten Championship, he returned to the Ravens in 2022 and spent two years leading their defensive unit. He was the league’s youngest head coach when he was hired by Seattle in 2024. In just his second season, at age 38, Mike Macdonald is a Super Bowl champion.
Darnold himself signed a three-year, $100.5 million contract after the Vikings moved on from him last offseason. Throughout the 2025-26 season, Darnold led the Seahawks to a 14-win season, joining Tom Brady as the only other quarterback to do so in back-to-back years, and the top seed in the NFC. He threw for 4,720 passing yards and 30 TDs in 2025, finishing seventh among eligible quarterbacks.
The loss sends New England into an offseason with $42.7 million in cap space and important roster decisions ahead. Last year, the Patriots doled out a league-high $192.9 million in free agency, fueling their Super Bowl run. Re-signing key free agents, such as K’Lavon Chaisson and Jaylinn Hawkins, will be essential for the offseason.
Per usual, head coach Mike Vrabel waited outside the locker room to thank each player. When asked about his young quarterback's struggles at a press conference, Vrabel remained supportive.
“He cares deeply about this team, and he’s very talented,” he said. “We’re lucky to have him.”
On Taylor’s campus, the Super Bowl united fans of differing teams for a night. Watch parties took place all over campus, as students enjoyed an evening free of academic stress to take in the biggest football game of the year.
Despite the neutrality of some fans, opinions about the game differed across campus.
“I thought Jason Myers, the Seahawks kicker, should’ve won MVP,” Austin Cooper, junior marketing major, said. “I think that having 17 of the 29 points should have been enough to win MVP.”
Debates aside, the outcome reflected a changing landscape in the league. From a young quarterback in New England to a second-year head coach in Seattle, Super Bowl LX marked the arrival of a new power in the NFL.
