By: Matthew Taylor
On Sunday, Feb. 8, the Seattle Seahawks took the Lombardi Trophy after defeating the New England Patriots in Levi’s Stadium to become the Super Bowl LX Champions. This victory came 11 years after these two teams dueled in Super Bowl XLIX and 12 years after the Seahawks’ first championship victory in Super Bowl XLVIII.
The final score was 29-13, with the Seahawks maintaining the lead from their very first drive.
The narratives were incredibly compelling as these two teams faced off against each other. The New England Patriots head coach (HC) Mike Vrabel was voted as 2025 AP NFL Coach of the Year in his first year leading the organization. In his career as a player, Vrabel appeared in four Super Bowls as a linebacker (LB) for the Patriots, winning three alongside legendary quarterback (QB) Tom Brady. Patriots offensive coordinator (OC) Josh McDaniels was voted as 2025 NFL Assistant Coach of the Year.
During the 2024 season, the Patriots won only four games. Including playoffs, the Patriots came into the Super Bowl in 2025 with 17 wins, marking the largest increase of wins in back-to-back seasons in NFL history. Much of this improvement is credited to the coaching, as well as to second-year QB Drake Maye’s performance. Maye was nominated for 2025 AP NFL Most Valuable Player (MVP) but lost the award to Los Angeles Rams QB Matthew Stafford. The Patriots came into the game after facing the third-worst schedule in NFL history. Despite this, they overcame three of the greatest defenses in the NFL to reach the Big Game, although their opponents were lacking in key areas. In Santa Clara, the team proved that its success this season was not a fluke.
The Seattle Seahawks were led by second-season HC Mike Macdonald, who was nominated for the Coach of the Year alongside Vrabel. He was supported by OC Klint Kubiak, who served in this role for the last time before moving to Las Vegas to be HC of the Raiders in the 2026-2027 season. Seahawks QB Sam Darnold had fought for a starting position on his previous four teams. Despite winning 14 games on the Minnesota Vikings while filling in for an injured rookie, QB J.J. McCarthy, he was not signed back to the team at the end of the season. The Seahawks made Darnold their QB, and he led his new team to another 14-win season and to the #1 seed in the National Football Conference (NFC). Darnold was supported by 2025 AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year wide receiver (WR) Jaxon Smith-Njigba, as well as WR Cooper Kupp, who is in his second Super Bowl on an NFC West team, in his first year after leaving division rivals, the Rams.
As was the case during their matchup in 2015, the game was decided by the defense. The legendary “Legion of Boom” Seahawks defense that led the league during their previous Super Bowl appearances finally found their worthy successors in a 2025-2026 unit nicknamed “The Dark Side.” On the Patriots’ side, cornerback (CB) Christian Gonzalez was an early star, blocking a number of deep passes with superhuman effort and limiting the Seahawks’ offense to only field goals until the fourth quarter.
After a low-scoring first half—with the Seahawks leading 9-0—the highly anticipated halftime show began. Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny took the stage to perform as the headliner, following his guest appearance alongside Shakira in Super Bowl LIV. For 13 minutes, Bad Bunny celebrated Latin culture and featured guest appearances from Lady Gaga and Ricky Martin, as well as cameos from Pedro Pascal, Cardi B, and Jessica Alba. Bad Bunny marched off the field in a sea of country flags with the jumbotron declaring the performance’s message: “The only thing more powerful than hate is love.”
After an incredible season of last-minute games, the championship may have seemed underwhelming. Since the Patriots’ previous championship against the Los Angeles Rams during Super Bowl LIII in 2019, this was only the second Super Bowl to not have a touchdown scored by either team across three quarters of play. Seahawks kicker Jason Myers set the Super Bowl record for five field goals during the Big Game. Myers also cemented his legacy by being the first player in NFL history to score over 200 points in a season (including postseason).
Patriots QB Drake Maye was limited to just 48 passing yards in the first half. While Maye rallied in the second half to finish with 295 yards—nearly reaching the 300-yard mark for just the second time in his career—turnovers proved costly against the dangerous Seattle defense. At 23 years old, Maye became the second-youngest QB to start a Super Bowl (trailing only Dan Marino), though the loss denied him the chance to surpass Ben Roethlisberger as the youngest to ever win the Big Game.
Although Seahawks QB Sam Darnold threw for only 202 yards, his command of the offense prevented the Patriots’ defense from securing any interceptions or fumble recoveries. Darnold completed his redemption arc by becoming the first QB in NFL history to win the Super Bowl with his fifth team franchise, validating a journey that saw him written off by previous teams. In a twist of irony, Levi’s Stadium—home of the San Francisco 49ers—served as the backdrop for their former backup QB hoisting the Lombardi Trophy. Despite being drafted in a high-caliber class alongside stars such as Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson and Baker Mayfield, Darnold became the first QB of the 2018 group to reach the Super Bowl.
Seattle Seahawks running back (RB) Kenneth Walker III was named Super Bowl MVP, becoming the first player in his position to receive the accolade since Terrell Davis in 1998, snapping a 28-year drought for RBs. Walker was the most impactful part of the Seattle Seahawks offense, rushing for 135 yards on 27 carries, including a pivotal 30-yard breakaway that set up a crucial fourth-quarter field goal. The night was even more meaningful due to the presence of his father, Kenneth Walker Jr., who famously dislikes crowds and had never watched his son play an NFL game in person. After being convinced by Walker’s agent to brave the stadium atmosphere, he was there to witness his son hoist the Pete Rozelle Trophy.
While Walker’s stats may not seem flashy on the surface, the MVP award recognized the complementary football played by the entire roster, anchored by the suffocating “Dark Side” defense. The unit sacked Drake Maye six times for a total loss of 43 yards, capping off a postseason in which the Patriots’ QB was brought down a record-breaking 21 times. The Patriots, becoming the first team in NFL history to start two rookies on the offensive line in a Super Bowl, simply could not hold up. No. 4 overall pick offensive lineman (OL) Will Campbell declined to speak to the media following a rough performance. Maye faced the press and commented on the impressive gameplay of his opponents, praising his team with confidence for the coming season.
While fans may be sad to see this exciting season come to a close, there are countless reasons to be even more excited for the next season starting in September. There will be ten new head coaches this coming season, and teams will have more exciting potential with the expanded cap space of over $300 million to build even more dynamic teams. Sam Darnold and the Seahawks end the 2025 NFL Season as the Super Bowl Champions, and they will be the first faces we see during the 2026 NFL Season as they host the Kickoff Game on Sep. 10, 2026.
