So that’s that. The 2025 NFL season ended with a dominant showing by the Seattle Seahawks, as they captured the franchise’s second Lombardi Trophy with a resounding 29-13 win against the over-matched New England Patriots in Super Bowl LX.

What appeared to be a defensive contest finally burst into life after the interval, with both offenses getting on the scoresheet, but it was the Seahawks’ smothering ‘Dark Side’ defense that won the day, bombarding second-year Patriots QB Drake Maye through a leaky offensive line and forcing the errors that became vital points in Seattle’s winning margin.

Here are some of the standout performances, and disappointing turnouts, from the Big Game…

SUPER BOWL LX SCORELINE

Sunday:

(#2) New England Patriots 13 @ 29 Seattle Seahawks (#1)

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Winner: Mike Macdonald

The Seahawks entered this game as heavy favourites, thanks in part to their stellar defense lining up against a Patriots offense that had stagnated in the postseason.

Mike Macdonald’s unit lived up to their billing, holding New England to zero points until there was little over 12 minutes remaining in the contest. Entering the fourth quarter, the Pats had punted more (six times) than they had secured first downs (four). Seattle didn’t allow a single explosive run, sacked Drake Maye six times, hit him on 40 percent of his dropbacks and forced three turnovers, including a pick six by Uchenna Nwosu that ended any hint of a comeback.

Macdonald fomented chaos in New England’s gameplan in typical fashion. There were very few blitzes dialled up, but those that were called proved devastating. Devon Witherspoon harried Maye on a number of corner blitzes, and Nwosu’s pick came as Witherspoon and Ernest Jones were sent in tandem through the B-gap in a hurry-up situation, allowing the nickelback to hit Maye’s arm, disrupting the pass. For the most part, the Seattle defense got home with four pass rushers, collapsing the pocket around the hapless Pats signal caller without giving an inch in the back end. Even with their offense unable to score a touchdown until the fourth quarter, so dominant was this defensive performance that the game felt over with the score at 12-0 entering Bad Bunny’s half-time show.

Macdonald — and a defensive staff including British coordinator Aden Durde — deserve immense credit for the job they have done in piecing together the league’s most disciplined and quietly devastating unit. It just won them a Super Bowl.

Loser: Drake Maye

The brilliance of the Seahawks defense does not tell the whole story. It is undeniable that Maye has wilted in these playoffs, and is a rare case of a quarterback that has seen their stock fall off the back of a deep postseason run.

The UNC alum has been sacked 25 times in the past four games; a playoff-record. According to TruMedia, Maye’s dropbacks in the 2025 postseason have resulted in a loss of 29.6 EPA for the Patriots offense. While the weather in the preceding two rounds excused some of his struggles, there was no escaping the fact that Maye was poor on Sunday.

Where he has created plays with his legs in the past, he looked unsure in the pocket, not knowing whether to take off in the face of its collapse or look for the hot route behind Macdonald’s corner blitzes. He was inaccurate in tight windows, slow to read through his progressions and unable to locate receivers as they came open. His first interception, a deep pass picked off by a lurking Julian Love, was so baffling that Chris Collinsworth couldn’t work out who the second year star was targeting on the play. Maye did show flashes on two scoring drives late on, however, connecting with Mack Hollins on back-to-back deep passes for a score, and flipping the ball to Rhamondre Stevenson for another late consolation, but there was never any real threat to the Seahawks supremacy.

This shouldn’t diminish the work Maye put forward in the regular season. Perhaps allegations of picking on an easy schedule did hold up, however, as Maye and the Pats averaged just 15 points per game in the playoffs. A tougher schedule promises an off-season of talking heads spinning the high chance of regression into a referendum on Maye’s stature as a pro. He still has all the talent to be a success, and maybe this early failure will be the making of him.

Winner: Sam Darnold

Where Maye struggled to accommodate pressure, Sam Darnold stood up to the challenge.

His stats do not reflect the assurance with which he played this game — 202 yards, a 74.7 passer rating and just one touchdown is hardly a barnstormer — but Darnold kept the Seahawks on the right side of the field position battle by moving masterfully through the pocket, limiting negative plays and avoiding costly turnovers.

Perhaps the most emblematic play of his day came during the first quarter. Darnold danced past the rush of Milton WIlliams — who really should have at least tripled his one sack on the game but for Darnold’s escapology act — kept his eyes downfield, and tried to connect with a streaking Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Darnold missed the connection, which would have resulted in a touchdown and an early two-score lead, but he did not put the ball in harm’s way either.

Christian Gonzalez and the Pats secondary came out draped all over the Seahawks pass catchers, and were looking to jump Darnold’s tight window throws. The Patriots blitzed on 70 percent of Darnold’s dropbacks in the opening quarter. Rather than allow himself to be goaded into a mistake, however, the eighth-year signal caller remained unflappable.

How fitting that this crowning achievement comes against the Pats, the team that essentially sealed his fate in New York during the infamous ‘Seeing Ghosts’ game back in 2020.

Loser: Will Campbell

Yeesh! This was ugly.

Campbell was supposed to be the difference maker on a porous offensive line going into 2025, nailing down an iron-clad starting spot on Maye’s blindside for the next decade. Since returning from an MCL injury in Week 12 of the regular season, however, the fifth overall pick has been an unmitigated disaster.

Left tackle was targeted relentlessly by the Seahawks, and Campbell allowed 14 pressures according to Next Gen Stats. While he only allowed one sack, the constant collapsing of the pocket to Maye’s left was critically detrimental to the Pats offensive efforts. Campbell has allowed four sacks in the postseason, reigniting questions over his athletic bona fides to play the position that were originally brought up in the pre-draft process. Due to his smaller stature and shorter arm length, it was questioned whether he could create enough distance and leverage to keep the best edge rushers at bay. With mounting evidence supporting that theory, a move into guard could be in his future.

Winner: Kenneth Walker III

It’s perhaps telling that we’ve saved the game’s MVP for last. Walker was undoubtedly a key factor in the Seahawks win, providing a consistent-enough ground attack while Seattle’s passing game stuttered and the name of the game was controlled in the face of New England’s dire performance in attack.

However, Walker’s performance was hardly a complete tour de force. He found success on just 29 percent of his rushes, and was stopped behind the line on multiple occasions. His languid style, reminiscent of Le’Veon Bell’s patience in finding a hole, is something of a double-edged sword; sometimes rushing to a closing gap can be the difference between a small gain and being stuffed for a loss.

But, when it works, oh is it a joy to watch. Walker saunters through the backfield, scanning the hole before bursting to daylight. Runs of 29 and 30 yards were the highlight, while his chalked-off touchdown late-on was the difference between a good display and an all-time showing.

Walker’s style and shortcomings in the passing game can make him a frustrating watch, but he at least elevated his catching and blocking enough to mitigate the absence of Zach Charbonnet down the stretch.