Sam Darnold made a once-unthinkable comeback in a once-unthinkable comeback, Aden Daade made English NFL history and the Seattle Seahawks became their second Super Bowl champions with a 29-13 victory over the New England Patriots on Sunday at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara.
That would be a perfect fit for No. 1-ranked scoring defenseman Mike McDonald, who sacked Drake Maye six times and had two interceptions while stealing a fumble in a suffocating performance against the Patriots’ second-year quarterback, a masterclass that clinched the Finals in the 2025 NFL season.
Uchenna Nwosu had a 44-yard interception return, Darnold threw a touchdown pass to AJ Barner, Jason Myers kicked a Super Bowl-record five field goals, and Julien’s fourth-quarter pick of Love erased the threat of a May comeback.
Darnold, now in his eighth season with his fifth team and the No. 3 overall pick in 2018, made up for the loss of his past and untimely career by signing a $105 million contract with the organization last offseason, reaching the pinnacle of football and embarking on an unlikely path to football immortality.
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Seattle quarterback Sam Darnold scores a 16-yard touchdown to AJ Varner as the Seahawks extend their lead against the New England Patriots.
Meanwhile, Seahawks defensive coordinator London Dard, the first British-born coordinator to coach in the Super Bowl, is a former London Warriors coach and founder of the league’s International Player Pathway Program, and played a key role in stopping Seattle’s rampant “dark side” defense.
Kenneth Walker won Super Bowl MVP with 135 rushing yards on the ground, Derrick Hall and Byron Murphy II each had two sacks, and with California’s defense reigning supreme, Darnold Burley needed to bring in the NFL’s receiving leader, Jackson Smith-Njiba.
Bad Bunny made history as the first Latinx and Spanish-speaking artist to headline a Super Bowl halftime show as a solo act, making Levi’s shine as a beacon of both California’s diversity and the NFL’s commitment to audiences around the world.
The Puerto Rican artist ended his performance by serenading a Latin American flag with the words “The only thing stronger than hate” written on a large screen, a symbol of unity that came at a time of heightened tensions across the country over concerns over Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.
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New England quarterback Drake Maye suffered his second fumble of the game, and Seattle’s Uchenna Nwosu took advantage and ran unopposed for a 44-yard touchdown.
Leader in statistics:
seahawks
Passing: Sam Darnold, 19-of-38, 202 yards, 1 TD Rushing: Kenneth Walker III, 27 carries, 135 yards Receiving: Cooper Kupp, 6 catches, 61 yards
patriots
Passing: Drake May, 27/43, 295 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT Rushing: Drake May, 5 catches, 37 yards Receiving: Mack Hollins, 4 catches, 78 yards, 1 TD
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New England quarterback Drake Maye somehow found Mack Hollins for a 35-yard touchdown, giving the Patriots hope for a late comeback.
Maye’s string of turnovers, one of the few blemishes on a stellar season, came back to bite him when he gave up the ball after being strip-sacked by Hall late in the third quarter.
Darnold punished his second-year opponent with a one-sided 16-yard touchdown strike to Varner, but Varner crossed the formation into a tight split alignment before slipping out on a corner route and breaking wide open to steal the quarterback’s pass for a 19-0 lead with 13.24 left.
In the first sign of the Patriots’ offense coming to life throughout the game, Maye hit Mack Hollins with a beautifully placed dagger through a narrow window in the middle of the field for a 24-yard gain. He then returned to his favorite splash play target on the next play, with a back-shoulder fade to Hollins for a 35-yard touchdown with 12.27 yards left to cut the deficit to 19-7.
Suddenly, there was a spark between Maye and Josh McDaniels, and the former seemed to be growing in confidence, until disaster struck when he was intercepted by Love at the Seahawks’ 27 with 8.49 seconds left.
Then he gift-wrapped a full-throttle, terrifying pick-six that epitomized the best of Seahawks football, with Devon Witherspoon scorching the edge to cause a Maye fumble, finding Nwosu’s sharp hand, swinging it away from Nwosu and returning for a 44-yard house call.
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Seattle quarterback Sam Darnold scores a 16-yard touchdown to AJ Varner as the Seahawks extend their lead against the New England Patriots.
Maye’s tough day ended with a late consolation touchdown pass to Rhamondre Stevenson, but the damage was long-lasting. The No. 3 overall pick in 2024 was looking to become the first quarterback since Tom Brady in 2001 to win a Super Bowl in the same year as his NFL playoff debut.
Charlie Puth’s vocals blended with the roar of the Air Force sky, beautiful fireworks, and a raucous “Is this Seattle?” Gather the crowd before kickoff with the perfect Super Bowl cocktail. The Patriots’ patriotism exploded as Tom Brady joined the ranks of Super Bowl MVPs, including Joe Montana. Levi’s Stadium was filled with an atmosphere of unpredictability, and an aura of mystery hung over Santa Clara ahead of the best matchup few expected.
What happened next was what many might have expected. In a tough, stubborn dual between two of the league’s best defensemen, a physical Walker run and three Myers field goals gave Seattle a 9-0 lead at halftime. Seattle quickly opened up a kick-heavy cushion with a 41-yard field goal by Myers at the end of a 10-play drive early in the second half.
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Seattle defensive coordinator Aden Dadeh was in high spirits after becoming the first British coach to win a Super Bowl.
The defensive tone of the day was highlighted on the final drive of the second quarter, when Patriots cornerback Christian Gonzalez broke up a touchdown pass to Smith-Njiba on the edge of the end zone.
After blocking Rashid Shahid’s few deep shots through the opening two innings with a brilliant jump and chip, this was the second decisive break in the first half.
The Patriots had virtually no offense in the first half, with Maye sacked three times and only passing for 48 yards.
The loss cost the Patriots an NFL-record seventh Super Bowl victory, but the Seahawks got revenge for their loss to New England in Super Bowl 49, which ended with Malcolm Butler’s iconic goal-line interception.
The game capped off one of the most expansive NFL seasons in recent memory, and vaulted the Seahawks into the lead at the end of the most unlikely Super Bowl matchup in history based on odds.
