On Sunday, February 8 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, CA, the NFC champion Seattle Seahawks dismantled the AFC champion New England Patriots 29-13 in what was one of the most improbable Super Bowl matchups of all time.
The Seahawks took an early 3-0 lead in the first quarter thanks to a Jason Myers field goal and didn’t relinquish the lead for the entirety of the evening. Myers kicked two more field goals in the second quarter and another in the third to bring the score to 12-0 going into the final quarter of the game. With 13:24 to go, Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold connected with tight end A.J. Barner to score the first touchdown of the night, and the only offensive touchdown for Seattle.
The Patriots star second-year quarterback Drake Maye ended the Pat’s scoreless streak with a deep touchdown to receiver Mack Hollins with 12:24 to go in the fourth, but the Seahawks quickly ended any fantasy of a comeback thanks to another Myers field goal and a touchdown off a Maye interception ran to the house by linebacker Uchenna Nwosu.
New England scored the final points of the game, with a garbage-time touchdown pass of Maye to running back Rhamondre Stevenson to make the score 29-13, which was the final score of the game.
Running back Kenneth Walker III took home Super Bowl MVP honors thanks to his strong rushing performance of 135 yards over 27 carries, which averages to 5 yards per carry. Walker was the first non-quarterback to win the award since wide receiver Cooper Kupp won with the Los Angeles Rams, and the first running back since Terrell Davis won with the Denver Broncos in 1998.
“It’s a surreal moment. It doesn’t happen without the guys in the locker room,” Walker III said after the game.
Myers received many votes for MVP as well, thanks to his strong performance which saw him go 5/5 in field goals and 2/2 in extra points, which totaled him to 17 points scored on the night. No kicker has ever won Super Bowl MVP.
The Patriots entered the Super Bowl as four-and-a-half point underdogs to the Seahawks, despite an excellent turnaround season led by head coach Mike Vrabel and Maye, who finished second in NFL MVP voting. After finishing the 2024 season 4-13 and in last place in the AFC East, the Patriots had an incredible turnaround to finish 14-3 and win the AFC East. They opened the season with odds to win the Super Bowl set at 80-1.
Similarly, the Seahawks were coming off a season in which they missed the playoffs despite a 10-7 record. The Seahawks opened the season with 60-1 odds to win the Super Bowl, making Super Bowl LX one of the most improbable matchups in modern NFL history.
Darnold, a highly touted quarterback prospect drafted third overall in the 2018 NFL draft out of University of Southern California, finally got his big playoff moment after being cast aside by three different franchises for a lack of performance. Darnold finally broke out with an MVP-caliber season with the Minnesota Vikings last season but couldn’t lead the Vikings past the Rams in the NFC Wild Card round. The Vikings refused to resign Darnold after the season ended and decided instead to let rookie J.J. McCarthy take the reins for the 2025 season. Darnold found a home with Seattle in 2025 and seems to finally have gotten his moment after a career of inconsistency.
To get to the Super Bowl, the Seahawks won the NFC West division and had the top overall NFC seed and a first-round bye. They dismantled the San Francisco 49ers 41-6 in the Divisional round and narrowly defeated the Rams 31-27 in a thrilling game to win the NFC Title game.
The Patriots won the AFC East but narrowly lost the top overall seed to the Broncos. They defeated the Los Angeles Chargers in the Wild Card round 16-3 and the Houston Texans 28-16 in the divisional round. In the AFC Championship game, the Pats squared up against the Broncos, who were missing their star quarterback Bo Nix due to an ankle injury. In a defensive slog of a game, the Patriots defeated the Broncos 10-7 to win the AFC title game.
