Seahawks win Super Bowl LX

By Elwyn Henderson

After a week of media frenzy and question after question asked by media representatives from all over the world the AFC Champion New England Patriots and NFC Champion Seattle Seahawks finally got to game day on Sunday at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California to compete for the Lombardi Trophy honoring the World Champions for the 2025 NFL season.

Both coaches reported that their practices went off without a hitch during the week in preparation for the big game. Neither team had any players listed as out and the small group of players who were on the injury list during the week were all cleared to be active on game day.

Fans were allowed to enter the stadium 4 hours prior to kick off a full 2 hours earlier than normal for regular season NFL games. As is always the case you could feel the electricity building from the moment the first fans entered the venue.

Some players from both teams, specifically the kickers and centers, came on the field a full 2½ hours prior to kick off to start their warm-ups.

With 40 minutes until kickoff Coco Jones performed Lift Every Voice and Sing, the Black National Anthem and did an awesome job with her beautiful voice. After both teams were introduced and came on the field Brandi Carlile sang America the Beautiful and Charlie Puth sang the National Anthem before the coin toss to begin the game.

The New England Patriots won the coin toss and deferred to the second half. Andy Borregales kicked the ball out of the end zone and Sam Darnold and the Seahawks began their first possession of the game at their 35.

The offense moved the ball down the field with precision passing by Darnold and good runs thanks to great blocking by the offensive line but the drive stalled at the Patriots 15 and on 4th and 8 Jason Myers booted a 33-yard field goal with 11:58 left in the first quarter, putting the ‘Hawks up 3-0. The drive was 8 plays, 51 yards and took 3:02 of the clock.

The ensuing kickoff by Myers was returned to the NE 28 where Drake Maye set his team up for their first possession of the game.

The team managed to earn a couple of first downs but Bryce Barringer was forced to punt the ball away on a 4th and 8 from the Seattle 44. The punt was fair caught at the 20 and Darnold led his unit back on the field hoping to extend their early lead.

The Patriots had a ferocious defense and Darnold failed to hit a wide open receiver for what would have been a sure TD on 4th down and the team had to punt the ball away on fourth down. The kick was returned up to the Patriots 36 with 6:07 left in the first quarter of play.

After picking up one first down the Seattle defense throttled May and the Pats were forced to punt the ball away from their 42. The kick was returned to the 13 and Darnold and his troops went back on the offensive again with 3:29 left in the opening frame.

Seattle managed one first down but then stalled out and after a punt the Patriots took over on their 32. After one play in the possession the first quarter came to an end with the Seahawks still leading 3-0.

The Seattle defense forced a three-and-out and after a fair catch of the punt Seattle was back in business at their 24. They moved the ball down to the Patriots 21 and on 4th and 14 Myers booted a 39-yard field goal with 11:16 left in the first half of play to put the Seahawks up 6-0. The drive was 8 plays, 55 yards and took 2:54 off the second quarter clock.

New England failed to get anything going on their next possession and Seattle got the ball back with 9:16 left in the first half on their 29.

Darnold led his charges to the New England 43 but on 4th down they punted the ball away. Michael Dickson nailed a beautiful 39-yard punt that went out of bounds at the Patriots 2 with 4:58 left in the half.

Maye desperately wanted to get his team and get on the scoreboard before the half. He managed to get one first down but then Seattle shut the door and forced another punt. The kick was returned to the 43 and Darnold was in a great position to get his team up by two scores with 2:50 left in the half.

Seattle moved down to the 23 and on a 4th and 3 Myers kicked his third field goal of the game with just 11 seconds left in the half to put the Seahawks up 9-0. The drive was 9 plays, 34 yards and took 2:39 off the clock.

The kickoff after the score was returned to the 29 and Maye took a knee to end the half.

After Bad Bunny’s Halftime Show the Patriots began their first possession of the second half at their 32. The could not get a drive going thanks to a continuing Seattle defense and when the Seahawks got the ball back after a punt they managed to get into field goal range and Mayes kicked his fourth 3-pointer of the game, a 41-yarder, putting his team up12-0 with 9:12 left in the third quarter. The drive consisted of 10 plays, 69 yards and took 4:40 off the clock.

  The teams exchanged punts on the next possessions and the ‘Pats began their next possession on their 23 after a punt. The stingy Seattle defense forced another punt and after a fair catch Darnold came back out at his 21 hoping to lead his team to a touchdown. It didn’t happen however, and it was a three-and-out. Dickson punted from his 27 to the Patriots 26 and there was no return. Maye set his group up at his 27 with just 1:55 left in the third quarter.

On a key third down Maye was hit and fumbled and Seattle recovered at the New England 37 with 10 seconds left in the quarter.

Darnold led his team down the field with total confidence and the drive ended with a TD pass to AJ Barner with 13:24 left in the game. Myers added the PAT after the first touchdown of the game and Seattle was in total control and almost had the game won, leading 19-0. The drive was 5 plays, 37 yards and took 1:46.

Myers’s kickoff after the first touchdown of the game was downed in the end zone and Maye and his unit set up on their 35 knowing they had to have a touchdown to stay in the game. The team needed something to give them a spark and they got it when a shirtless fan managed to get down on the field on the scoreboard end of the stadium and he was chased by security all the way down the field and was apprehended at the 10. That seemed to ignite the home team in the game as they moved the ball down the field with big pass completions and then Maye tossed a 35-yard TD pass to Mack Hollins with 12:27 left in the game. Borregales kicked the point after the lead dropped to 19-7 with 12:27 left in the game. The 57 second drive took just 3 plays to move the 65 yards to the end zone.

The Seahawks knew they needed to at least have a sustained drive to stem the sudden momentum the Patriots had gotten. Darnold led his team to one first down but a bomb fell incomplete, forcing a punt. The ball was downed at the 4 and the ‘Pats got the ball back with 10:40 left in the game.

After getting a good drive going Maye was intercepted by Julian love at the Seattle 25 and he returned the pick to the New England 38 where Darnold set up with 8:37 left in the game. You had the feeling the interception was probably the final nail in the coffin for New England and that proved to be the case.

The Seahawks moved the ball down to the 8 and on a 4th and 4 Mayes kicked a 26-yard field goal to advance the lead to 22-7 with 5:35 left in the game. The drive was 6 plays, 30 yards and took 3:02 off the fourth quarter clock.

 The Patriots returned the kickoff to their 38 and had 5:29 to score 14 points and everyone in the stadium knew that would not happen.

Maye was hit and fumbled and Uchenna Nwosu returned the ball untouched into the end zone for a touchdown with 4:27 left in the game. Mayes added the extra point and the Seattle lead advanced to 29-7 and the dagger was twisted into the heart of the Patriots.

The next possession began at the 35 after not landing in the landing zone but there was too little time left for Maye to find a way to put his team in a position to win the game. Maye did manage to lead the team down the field and into the end zone with 2:21 left in the game when he hit Rhamondre Stevenson from 7 yards out for a TD. The Pats went for a 2-point conversion. The pass fell incomplete when the receiver and defender collided. The score moved to 29-13 with the TD and an onside kick was next on the agenda. The drive was 8 plays, 65 yards and took 2:06.

The onside attempt was recovered by the Seahawks at their 46. The ‘Hawks just wanted to run the ball and stay in bounds to keep the clock running. After a 3-yard gain on first down NE used their second time out of the half. Darnold took a knee for a 6-yard loss on the next play and the Patriots used their final time out of the game with 2:10 left, bringing up a 3rd and 13. Kenneth Walker III took a handoff and ran around left end into the end zone for what appeared to be a touchdown but there was an offensive holding call moving the ball back to the Seattle 41 with 1:57 left and that got the game to the 2-minute warning.

After the timeout Dickson punted the ball away on 4th and 22 from his 42 with all 11 Patriots on the line of scrimmage trying to block the kick but Dickson moved to his left and punted the ball down to the 6 and New England had one last possession to try to make the score look closer than it was.

Maye got his team down to the 30 as time ran out and the Seahawks claimed the Lombardi Trophy in their 50th season with the 29-13 win.

MVP Kenneth Walker III said in his presser after the game, “If I would tell myself as a kid right now, I wouldn’t have guessed I’d be the one to win MVP, so this is a surreal moment. It doesn’t happen without the guys in the locker room. When the doctor told me I couldn’t play anymore, I just thought football was over. It was what I was doing all my life. It was a shocking moment but my dad worked with me throughout that whole process. He was in the hospital with me as well and my mom. Going through that, it made me grateful for each and every day to be able to strap up and play this game and still be alive.”

Coach Mike McDonald said in his press conference, “I think one of the great things about our team is that we grow together. And, that’s something that’s part of my life. It’s been a journey, you know. It hasn’t always been that case, my faith hasn’t always been strong. You have doubts; it’s kind of a rollercoaster ride. And the last few years it’s been really strengthened. You see what our players do and what (Seahawks team chaplain) Jonathan Rainey does every day and brings people together. It’s a journey that we’re in together and it’s empowering and it’s inspiring to pursue that part of your life that’s so important.”

So another NFL season is in the books. Plans for the 2026 season are already in process now. The next big NFL event will be the 2026 Draft that will take place April 23-25 in Pittsburgh, PA.

Enjoy the offseason and get ready for another great year of NFL action beginning in August with the preseason games before the regular season opens in September!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

\