On Sunday, Feb. 8, the Seattle Seahawks won their second franchise Lombardi Trophy in a 29-13 victory over the New England Patriots to close out the 2025 NFL season.
The standout performance in the first three quarters, however, was Bad Bunny’s halftime show. Scoring was low, and gameplay was unexciting. Not even the commercials captured my attention.
Up until the fourth quarter, all scoring occurred on the Seattle side. Seahawks’ kicker Jason Myers put up the first twelve points of the game, making it 12-0 Seattle at the end of the third quarter. A kicker has never won Super Bowl MVP, but Myers made a good case. His five field goals set a Super Bowl record. Ultimately, that honor was awarded to Seattle’s running back, Kenneth Walker III, who rushed for 135 yards on Sunday.
I wouldn’t call the overall Seahawks performance dominant, but Seattle’s defense definitely made life difficult for New England’s offense. They made Drake Maye, the Patriots’ 23-year-old 2024 third overall pick quarterback, look like a nervous high schooler.
Throughout the game, Maye was sacked a total of six times for a New England loss of forty-three yards. Seattle’s defense increased the pressure on the young quarterback with eleven hits and two interceptions.
With ten seconds left in the third quarter, linebacker Derick Hall sacked Maye, forcing him to fumble the ball. Seattle’s defensive tackle, Byron Murphy II, recovered the ball for the first turnover of the game.
Then, as if inspired by Bad Bunny’s electric performance, the fourth quarter brought the excitement.
Seattle quarterback Sam Darnold threw the first touchdown of the game to tight end AJ Barner to put his team up 19-0.
New England, which up until this point had not scored at all, quickly followed with a touchdown from Maye to wide receiver Mack Hollins, making it 19-7.
As if they hadn’t done enough damage, the Seahawks’ defense wasn’t done beating up the Patriots’ offense.
Both in the fourth quarter, Maye threw two interceptions. The first looked as if it was thrown straight to Seattle safety Julian Love. The drive ended with a three-point field goal, making the score 22-7 with less than six minutes remaining in the game.
The most thrilling play of the night was the interception knocked loose by cornerback Devon Witherspoon and caught by linebacker Uchenna Nwosu. Nwosu ran forty-six yards for the Seahawks’ second and final touchdown of the game.
The Patriots scored another touchdown around the two-and-a-half minute mark, but at that point, their fate was sealed.
In his post-game interview, a teary-eyed and defeated-looking Maye faced a room full of journalists looking for answers. He revealed that before the game, he was given an injection for pain in his throwing shoulder.
Despite the loss, many New England fans still have hope. With the departure of Tom Brady in 2019 after twenty-seasons as quarterback, many are looking to build another ‘dynasty’ around Maye, whose career is just beginning.
As blue and green confetti rained down at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., Walker hoisted the Lombardi Trophy after being named MVP. But, if I had to decide that honor, I would most certainly give it to the entirety of Seattle’s defense for their absolutely dominant performance.
The ‘Dark Side,’ as fans have so affectionately dubbed them, were the real winners.
