Super Bowl 60 instant analysis: Seahawks blast Patriots at Levi’s Stadium

SANTA CLARA – Add a Super Bowl victory to the Seattle Seahawks’ treasure chest of accomplishments at Levi’s Stadium, home of the rival 49ers.

The Seahawks held the New England Patriots scoreless into the fourth quarter and ultimately prevailed 29-13 before a crowd of 70,823 in the stadium’s second Super Bowl since it opened in 2014.

This win came with greater stakes than any of Seattle’s other eight wins at Levi’s Stadium, including a win in the Jan. 3 regular-season finale to claim the NFC West title and the NFC’s No. 1 seed.

The Seahawks’ defense that suffocated the 49ers in that Week 18 showdown, as well as in a 41-6 divisional-playoff rout Jan. 17 in Seattle, was on full display Sunday night.

The bulk of the Seahawks’ points came from Jason Myers’ Super Bowl-record five field goals.

But the final touchdown, appropriately, came from Seattle’s defense: Uchenna Nwosu returned a Drake Maye interception 45 yards for a touchdown with 4:17 remaining, once blitzing cornerback Riq Woolen hit Maye’s arm as the Patriots’ quarterback retreated from the midfield NFL logo.

The Seahawks’ other touchdown came on a fourth-quarter pass from Sam Darnold, who called this stadium home two years ago as Brock Purdy’s backup.

Even before kickoff, 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan reminded everyone of Seattle’s defensive dominance. Appearing on NBC’s pregame show, Shanahan was asked his expert opinion on the matchup and responded: “Expert opinion? I haven’t scored a touchdown in the last two times we played them so I don’t know how good that is. But it’s a grind versus these guys.”

Seattle’s shutout bid ended with 12 ½ minutes remaining, when Patriots quarterback Maye completed a 35-yard touchdown strike to Mack Hollins, one play after a 24-yard completion to Hollins.

Less than a minute earlier, the Seahawks broke through with the game’s first touchdown – a 16-yard scoring strike from Darnold to tight end A.J. Barner for a 19-0 lead.

That Seahawks score was set up by the game’s first turnover, when Derick Hall created a third-down strip-sack against Maye, who walked right into a four-man rush. Byron Murphy II recovered at the Seattle 37-yard line on the third quarter’s penultimate play.

Another turnover came when Seahawks safety Julian Love intercepted Maye’s 30-yard heave at the Seattle 27-yard line with 8 ½ minutes remaining. Love’s 35-yard return set up Myers’ fifth field goal.

Both of the Seahawks’ Lombardi Trophies in their 50 seasons came after an NFC playoff win at home over the 49ers, from the 2013 season’s NFC Championship Game to that divisional-round rout three weeks ago.

After opening this season with a 17-13 home loss to the 49ers, the Seahawks finished on a 10-game win streak, and four of their final five games before the Super Bowl came against the 49ers and the Los Angeles Rams. That Week 1 loss to the 49ers was the Seahawks’ biggest defeat.

It was the Patriots’ NFL-record sixth Super Bowl loss; they had been tied with the Denver Broncos at five. The Patriots remain tied with the 49ers for most NFL playoff victories (40).

Resigned to their fate, the Patriots offered a faint celebration after Maye’s second touchdown pass, a 7-yard flip to Rhamondre Stevenson with 2:21 left for the final margin.

Darnold became the first quarterback to win a Super Bowl while on his fifth career team. He joined Trent Dilfer (2000 Ravens), Tom Brady (2020 Bucs), and Matthew Stafford (2021 Rams) as starting quarterbacks to win a Super Bowl in their first year with a team.

The Seahawks took a 9-0 lead into Bad Bunny’s halftime show, then Jason Myers’ fourth field goal came on their opening possession of the second half. Darnold sprung them from their 9-yard line by mixing big completions (16, 16 and 20 yards) with an 11-yard scramble to get in Myers’ range.

Darnold set up Myers’ first field goal on the opening drive with a 23-yard completion to Cooper Kupp, who appeared to juggle the ball on his way out of bounds at the 12-yard line. (The Seahawks entered Sunday 11-0 when they scored first.)

Seattle doubled its lead to 6-0 on a 39-yard, second-quarter field goal before Myers scored his first-half hat trick with a 41-yarder 11 seconds before halftime.

While Darnold remained turnover-free through the playoffs after an NFL-high 20 in the regular season, the Seahawks’ offense revolved around Kenneth Walker III, who had 135 rushing yards and a 49-yard touchdown run nullified by a holding penalty in the final minutes. Walker had 30- and 29-yard runs to set up the Seahawks’ second field goal and earned MVP honors.

Rattled by the Seahawks’ defense, the Patriots had 51 yards and five first downs in the first half, after punting away their first five possessions. Maye was sacked three times and completed 6-of-11 passes for 48 yards, his last attempt soaring out of bounds on a desperation shot toward Hollins at midfield.

It was the fifth Super Bowl in history without a first-half touchdown.

Cornerback Christian Gonzalez was the Patriots’ first-half savior for breaking up two passes to prevent potential touchdowns – on a Darnold bomb for Rashid Shaeed to open the second series, and on a 23-yard target to a nearly open Jaxon Smith-Njigba at the goal line 16 seconds before halftime.

Teams that hold their opponents scoreless before the Super Bowl halftime show improved to 15-0 thanks to the Seahawks’ dominant showing.