SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) 鈥� The 鈥淒ark Side鈥� defense carried Sam Darnold and the Seattle Seahawks to a Lombardi Trophy.
Devon Witherspoon, Derick Hall, Byron Murphy and the rest of Mike Macdonald鈥檚 ferocious unit pummeled Drake Maye, and the Seahawks beat the New England Patriots 29-13 on Sunday to win the franchise鈥檚 second Super Bowl.
鈥淲e never waver, man. We believe in each other. We love each other, and now we鈥檙e world champions,” Macdonald said.
Darnold to AJ Barner, Kenneth Walker III ran for 135 yards and Jason Myers set a Super Bowl record by making all five of his field-goal tries.
鈥淭o do this with this team, I wouldn鈥檛 want it any other way,鈥� Darnold said. 鈥淪o proud of our guys, our defense. I mean, I can鈥檛 say enough great things about our defense, our special teams.鈥�
Walker became the first running back to win the Super Bowl MVP award since Hall of Famer Terrell Davis did it with Denver 28 years ago.
Uchenna Nwosu punctuated a punishing defensive performance by after Witherspoon hit his arm and running it back 45 yards for a pick-6.
“We went through a lot, but we believed,” Witherspoon said. “All of you all doubters out there who said all that other stuff, you all don鈥檛 know what鈥檚 going on in this building. We鈥檙e one of one over here.鈥�
Seattle won its first Super Bowl a dozen years ago behind its 鈥淟egion of Boom鈥� defense, then was denied a repeat when New England’s at the goal line. The Seahawks hadn’t been back to the Super Bowl since.
Darnold become the first quarterback in the 2018 NFL draft class to win a Super Bowl, ahead of Josh Allen, Baker Mayfield and Lamar Jackson.
Labeled a bust, dumped by two teams and considered expendable by two others, Darnold proved his doubters wrong while helping the Seahawks go 17-3.
After leading the NFL with 20 turnovers in the regular season, Darnold didn鈥檛 have any in three playoff games. He wasn鈥檛 particularly sharp against a solid Patriots defense but protected the ball and made enough plays, finishing 19 of 38 for 202 yards.
鈥淚 know we won the Super Bowl, but we could have been a little bit better on offense, but I don鈥檛 care about that right now,鈥� Darnold said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 an unbelievable feeling, man. I鈥檓 just so happy for the guys in the locker room and the coaches that put in so much effort throughout the whole season.鈥�
The Seahawks sacked Maye six times, including two apiece by Hall and Murphy. late in the third quarter set up a short field and Darnold connected with Barner on 16-yard scoring toss to make it 19-0.
set up another field goal that made it 22-7 with 5:35 left.
The Patriots (17-4) punted on the first eight drives, excluding a kneel-down to end the first half.
鈥淛ust reminding them that we鈥檙e 307 days into what hopefully is a long, successful relationship and program, and it’s OK to be disappointed,鈥� New England coach Mike Vrabel said.
Down 19-0, Maye and the Patriots’ offense finally got going. He hit Mack Hollins over the middle in traffic for 24 yards and then lofted a perfect 35-yard TD pass to Hollins down the left side to cut the deficit to 19-7.
Tom Brady once led Bill Belichick鈥檚 Patriots to the greatest comeback in Super Bowl history, when New England rallied from a 28-3 deficit against Atlanta for a 34-28 overtime victory.
But Maye, who was runner-up to Matthew Stafford for the in the closest race in two decades, didn鈥檛 come close. He had a chance to narrow the gap, but his ill-advised pass into triple coverage was picked by Love and the Patriots trailed by 15 when they got the ball back with 5:35 left. Maye said after the game that he , which he injured in the AFC championship win at Denver, but said it didn’t affect his play.
Then came Nwosu鈥檚 touchdown, a fitting way to cap an overwhelming effort by the NFL鈥檚 stingiest defense.
鈥淒efinitely hurts. They played better than us tonight,鈥� Maye said.
Maye鈥檚 7-yard TD pass to Rhamondre Stevenson late in the game only made the margin smaller.
The Seahawks took a 3-0 lead on Myers鈥� 33-yard field goal on the game鈥檚 opening drive. Myers connected from 39 and 41 yards to extend the lead to 9-0 at halftime. He was good from 41 on Seattle鈥檚 first drive of the third quarter to make it 12-0.
Patriots player of the game
Cornerback Christian Gonzalez made two outstanding plays to prevent potential touchdowns in the second quarter. He raced back and leaped in the air to slap away a deep pass to Rashid Shaheed that could have been a 76-yard TD.
On Seattle鈥檚 last drive in the first half, Gonzalez knocked down a pass to All-Pro wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba that would have been a 23-yard TD.
Mills gets a two-for-one sack
Rylie Mills and took both of them down on one of Seattle鈥檚 sacks.
Bad Bunny shines at halftime
Bad Bunny headlined a visually stunning that also featured appearances by Lady Gaga and Ricky Martin. The Grammy-winning Puerto Rican artist entirely in Spanish.
Patriots denied a record 7th title
The Patriots failed to win the franchise鈥檚 seventh Super Bowl, which would have set an NFL record. They鈥檙e tied with the Steelers with six championships.
Vrabel, the AP NFL Coach of the Year, was aiming to become the fifth person to win a Super Bowl as a player and head coach and the first to do both with the same team.
The 23-year-old Maye became the second-youngest QB to start a Super Bowl, but couldn’t become the youngest to win it. Ben Roethlisberger still holds that mark.
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