The Seattle Seahawks defense was the star of the 29-13 win over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LX on Feb. 8 at Levi’s Stadium. Seattle’s offense would pick up in the second half, helping the defense, as the Patriots had no answer offensively.
Drake Maye was harassed by the Seahawks defense during the contest, which recorded six sacks. Moreover, the group picked off Maye twice and forced one fumble. The Patriots’ QB did have two passing touchdowns, but it wasn’t enough.
One of those interceptions came from Uchenna Nwosu, who put the game away with a 46-yard interception return for a touchdown, extending Seattle’s lead to 29-7. The play was initially ruled a fumble by Maye, but after review showed the ball never hit the ground, the call was changed to an interception.
After the Seahawks raised the Lombardi Trophy, CBS Sports’ Patrick Peterson praised the Seattle defense, noting that New England had no answer for them.
“It looked like the Seattle defensive line was too much for the offensive linemen that were protecting him for the most part, but Drake never seemed comfortable the entire game,” Peterson said on the Feb. 8 edition of CBS Sports HQ. “He had happy feet the entire game and wasn’t able to get his feet set and when young quarterbacks get hit early and often, their eyes tend to come down.”
Drake Maye Wasn’t Comfortable Against Seattle
Maye completed 27 of 43 passes for 295 passing yards. With the high number of pass attempts, the Seahawks’ defense took away the run game and forced Maye to beat them, limiting New England to 79 total rushing yards. Nonetheless, with the pass rush that Seattle was dialing up, the Patriots’ star couldn’t be comfortable throughout the game.
“[Maye didn’t] see the whole field or go throughout their progressions as they should, and that was some of the things that came to a head in this ball game here,” Peterson added. “He wasn’t able to be protected throughout this game, was never comfortable, and the receivers were not able to create any separation throughout this entire game.”
JSN Praises Seahawks’ Defense in Win Over Patriots
Furthermore, Seahawks’ Jaxon Smith-Njigba didn’t hold back his thoughts on the Settle defense, who held the fort in the first half, limiting the Patriots to zero points through the first three quarters. Maye and Co. didn’t record their 13 points until the fourth quarter.
“Oh, man, those guys were ready,” Smith-Njigba said on NFL Network after the win. “They’ve been ready. It’s always fun to watch them. We know they’ve got our back. They’re the best in the world. We know we’re going to get opportunities to score, but it starts with defense, and defense wins championships, and we got one today.”
Kenneth Walker III would be the engine on offense, recording 135 rushing yards on 27 carries, averaging 5.0 yards per carry. Meanwhile, Sam Darnold recorded 202 passing yards on 19 of 38 pass attempts for one touchdown.
This offensive production was enough for the Seahawks to get the win, off the back of their defense.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Seahawks Defense Gets Strong Message After Super Bowl Win appeared first on Heavy Sports.