It’s already been two days, and I already miss the NFL.
What am I going to watch over the next seven months (meanwhile, the Olympics, NBA, MLB, NHL, UEFA Champions League, World Baseball Classic, NASCAR, Formula 1, IndyCar, the FIFA World Cup, and others are all looming over my shoulder)?
But in all seriousness, congrats to the Seattle Seahawks on winning their second Super Bowl in franchise history and stopping the Patriots’ dynasty before it even began.
With that said, here are three things I learned from Patriots vs Seahawks.
Seattle’s Defense Will Go Down in the History Books
After the demolition the Seahawks’ defense inflicted on Drake Maye and New England’s offense on Sunday, they will undoubtedly be remembered for all of eternity.
Going off the basic stats, Seattle recorded six sacks (tied for most-ever in a Super Bowl), two interceptions, eight tackles for loss, six pass deflections, 11 QB hits, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, and a pick six.
That’s not all, though. The Seahawks forced the Patriots to punt on their first eight drives, including a stretch where they went three-and-out on five straight drives.
New England also had only two plays inside Seattle’s territory in the first three quarters, with the furthest reaching the Seahawks’ 44-yard line on their first drive of the game.
Devon Witherspoon caused all sorts of problems for the Patriots’ offense from the cornerback position. And that helped the Seahawks give them the tempo they wanted.
Truly a dominant performance.
Will Campbell Had a Game to Forget
Yes, we’re all aware that Campbell was dealing with a torn ligament due to a knee injury that he sustained in Week 12 vs the Bengals and was not 100% for the playoffs. But as he said, that’s not an excuse for how he played, and oh boy, did it show.
Campbell had one of the worst games from an offensive lineman I’ve ever seen. The big man from Monroe, Louisiana, allowed 14 QB pressures on 53 dropbacks, the most by an offensive lineman in a playoff game since 2018, per Next Gen Stats.
Campbell also allowed a staggering 26.9% pressure rate and gave up four pressures within 2.5 seconds.
This was the final dreadful chapter of Campbell’s 2025 postseason performance. Even though the Patriots made it to the finals, Campbell struggled throughout the playoffs as he allowed 29 pressures, over half his regular-season total of 51, and the most during a postseason in the Next Gen Stats era.
All Campbell can do now is reflect on this and improve for next season.
Sam Darnold Finishes His Story
Josh Allen
Lamar Jackson
Baker Mayfield
Josh Rosen (lol)
The pillars of the iconic 2018 NFL quarterback draft class. And out of all of them, it would be Sam Darnold who became the first out of this group to win the Lombardi Trophy.
Yes, Sam Darnold. The one that was drafted by the Jets as the future of the franchise, but his growth and development were stunted by… well, it’s the Jets. And he started to see ghosts.
He then hopped over to North Carolina for a fresh start with the Panthers, but things didn’t get any better, and it seemed his career was dead in the water.
After two seasons, he headed west to San Francisco to join the 49ers, where he called it a valuable learning experience.
He then headed over to Minnesota, where he was thrust into the Vikings’ starting quarterback job due to a season-ending torn meniscus injury to J.J McCarthy. Darnold played his best football in the Land of 10,000 Lakes, even earning the first Pro Bowl nod of his career. But despite this, Minnesota decided to let him go.
It was in Seattle where everything finally clicked. He wasn’t putting up the stats like he was with the Vikings, but all that learning and experience paid off. With great support on offense and defense, Darnold helped propel the Seahawks to the top of the NFC.
After besting San Fran in the divisional round and the Los Angeles Rams in an epic conference championship game, Darnold found himself one game away from reaching the mountain top, facing off against Maye and the Patriots, who were in the midst of their own historic season.
Darnold wasn’t lighting it up, but he played efficient, safe football to help give Seattle its second-ever Super Bowl win.
Congrats, Sammy. You truly deserved this.
Delivered by Sean Paul
