THE TRANSATLANTIC MAGAZINE
THE TRANSATLANTIC MAGAZINE
Super Bowl LX, fashioned 'Lex', or just plain old 60 to those of us who still use Arabic numerals, was one of those games that plays out very much like the way analysis thought it would, with Seattle defeating New England 29-13 in a game which really wasn't as close as the score seems.
That, in itself, is unusual, because Super Bowls rarely play to the way they are scripted by the media and the bookies. At least not unless you're in the conspiracy camp that contends the NFL scripts things out, or advises the referees to call games in specific ways that might provide an advantage to one team.
It has seemed that this sort of advice is in play, but with general instructions in favor of keeping the game moving rather than turning it into a yellow flag festival or helping one team. There was nothing like the suspicions, for example, when in the Patrick Mahomes era the Chiefs have beaten the 49ers twice in Super Bowls. Both games were refereed by Bill Vinovich, and in that 120 minutes of football Vinovich never once saw Niners' pass-rusher Nick Bosa get held by a Chiefs' lineman. My vision differed considerably from his. Some argued that the directive was to protect Mahomes, the league's most exciting young star, and let him make plays. On the other hand, when Tampa Bay played the Chiefs and KC had to use two two backup tackles, there was nothing they could do to prevent a big rush, and Tampa won easily.
'Lex' was light on penalties: there were only seven accepted in this game, for a total of 50 yards. I thought only one call particularly crucial: New England's Dell Pettus called for a block in the back when Marcus Jones broke a big punt return early in the second half that might have helped the Patriots get back into the game. Pettus' block was really a very light push which he tried to undo even as it was happening. It wasn't a terrible call, in the sense there was contact, but there was a far worse block in the back on a Seattle kickoff return in the first half that had passed unflagged. Officiating critics hate inconsistency more than anything.
What really affects games is what goes uncalled, because the inability to stick to the letter of the rules, which the NFL annually revises or re-interprets with the close reading of a rabbinical analysis of the Torah. Holding by offensive linemen, and contact by defensive backs beyond the five-yard "chuck" zone and before a pass is in the air are both endemic to today's game. But although there were a number of times when the Seattle line went beyond sumo to pro wrestling to create cut back lanes for game MVP Kenneth Walker, the only call was one that negated a touchdown when the game was already decided, and kept the game under 44.5 points, which I wouldn't argue as Seattle winning and the under was the content of my bet.
And I thought the secondary play, especially Seattle's, was remarkably clean considering how close their coverage was. That is an area which I spend long portions of most games complaining about, because the NFL's allowance of contact while the ball is in the air, usually dismissed as "hand-fighting", gives a huge advantage to the defender, who merely has to break up the pass, over the receiver who needs those hands to actually catch it. I thought that cleanness spoke to the quality of the Seahawks' secondary, in a completely different way to the previous "Legion of Boom" defense that had won a Super Bowl and lost another, improbably, to the Patriots, after an equally improbable catch had put them in the position to win it. There was one big exception in the first half. Drake Maye, under pressure, threw a catchable ball high to tight end Hunter Henry, and after it went through his hands – well after – he was hit by safety Coby Bryant, helmet to helmet late on a defenseless receiver. A first down there might have positioned the Pats to get at least three.
Going into the game Seattle seemed the better balanced team. A crucial point was that New England's remarkable turnaround from a 4-13 season in 2024 to a 14-3 2025 was achieved against a last-place schedule (the NFL weights schedules in order to assist parity) and the team wasn't really that good. Of course, in the playoffs you play tougher competition, and here some of the arguments made sense. The Pats won their three playoff games against a Chargers team whose offensive line had been decimated by injury, a Texans team whose line was shaky and whose QB, CJ Stroud seemed to be playing shaky, and finally a Broncos team without their starting QB (Bo Nix) and in conditions that became blizzard-like early in the second half. All three of those teams still boasted strong defenses (Houston's was arguably the league's most dangerous, and Denver's was in the top-three mix along with, of course, Seattle's) but the Pats managed to score only 16, 21 and 10 points in the three wins. More importantly, their second-year QB Drake May (runner-up for the league's regular season MVP) turned the ball over a dangerous number of times, and hurt his throwing shoulder in the Denver game. But the Pats' defense had been strong against the run all year, and once they got tackle Milton Williams (a Super Bowl winner with the Eagles last year) back from injury, their pass rush, largely driven by their inside linemen, blossomed.
Meanwhile, Seattle played in an NFC West division that may have been the NFL's toughest, with three of the four teams making the playoffs, including the injury-riddled San Francisco 49ers. Those three teams (LA Rams being the third) actually played a three-game round robin counting the playoffs, and Seahawks lost once to each of them. In fact, Seattle's 31-27 win over the Rams in the NFC title game (the Super Bowl semi-final) was in many ways the real Super Bowl. The book on the Seahawks was balance: a top flight defense, a decent offensive line, some weapons including Jaxson Smith-Njigba (aka JSN), one of the league's top three receivers, and Walker running with Zach Charbonnet (who was injured and would miss the Super Bowl). Their big question would be whether QB Sam Darnold could see them through. Darnold, once a first-round draft pick of the Jets, had struggled with them and with Carolina, then blossomed with Minnesota in 2024, leading them to a 14-3 record before hitting a wall at season's end and in the playoffs. The Vikings let him go in favor of rookie JJ McCarthy, and Seattle snapped him up to replace Geno Smith, who went with ex-Seahawks coach Pete Carroll to the Raiders.
The game opened with Seattle's defense dominating, but New England's only a small step behind. Maye was under almost constant pressure (he would be sacked six times in the game) and missing throws (which in retrospect might have been affected by that shoulder injury, although it was not listed as a factor before the game). Seattle was making some plays despite Walker being somewhat bottled up early, but he still opened the game with an 11 yard gain and had a big 29 yard run to set up Seattle's second field goal.
In fact, the biggest decision-maker of the first half turned out to be Pats' coach Mike Vrabel's not challenging a sidelines catch by Cooper Kupp, which seemed pretty clearly an incomplete pass as Kupp had failed to get both feet down inbounds before controlling the ball. The Pats then stopped the Seahawks, but the catch had put Seattle close enough for kicker Jason Myers to kick the first of this Super Bowl's record five field goals (none of which came from "challenging" distances. With the Pats' offense stalling, the first half ended with the score 9-0, all the points coming from Myers' toe.
The Pats moved the ball better early in the second half, but that punt return penalty hurt them, and Seattle began spreading the Pats' D, often in zones to help cover JSN, which resulted in Walker beginning to find cut back lanes for Walker, who, if he weren't contacted behind the line of scrimmage, or broke the first attempt, had time to find those lines. At times it looked like Seattle offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak was drawing up plays from his father Gary, who got them from Mike Shanahan when he coached Denver. It's not the Nepotistic Football League for nothing.
Meanwhile Seattle's pass rush was being generated primarily by unexpected corner blitzes from backs like Devon Witherspoon, and by challenging the Pats' rookie left tackle Will Campbell, whose positioning before the snap was apparently giving plays away to Seattle's defense and negatively impacting his ability to set properly in pass blocking. But knowing when pass plays were coming allowed Seattle to use those defensive backs in rush, and still keep six defenders back in coverages. Maye's first looks usually saw no one open, and he was often trying to fit passes into tight windows, without much success, except late in the game twice to Mack Hollins.
And what about Seattle's big question mark, Darnold? In the first half, the Pats were doing a good job of coming at him, and he was doing a good job at avoiding the sacks and getting rid of the ball under pressure. The throws weren't always perfect: a number of them were on target but not caught; one hit the helmet of a pass-blocker; and one was perfectly thrown to an open Rashid Shaheed deep, but Christian Gonzalez, catching up and tracking the ball perfectly, deflected it. Gonzalez had a second similar play to wipe what looked like a sure first-half TD off the board, help keep the Pats in the game, and make Darnold's stats look worse than his play actually was.
It was the mixing up the play calling in the second half which helped turn the tide against a somewhat tiring Pats' front and by shaking up the pass routes until someone (in this case tight end AJ Barner) got the matchup they wanted and was open in the end zone well ahead of the linebacker covering him. New England's rebuttal came really in garbage time: only once, down 19-7, did they have a chance to get back into the contest.
But here the importance of special teams reared its head. Obviously, Myers' five field goals were the big story, but the punt game was another one. Shaheed, a mid-season pickup from the Saints, was a huge threat as a punt-returner, and Marcus Jones was almost as dangerous on kicks for the Pats. Patriots' punter Bryce Baringer, a rookie, had been criticized for his kicking in the Denver blizzard, but in the big game he did a great job of sacrificing kick distance for height, which allowed his coverage units to get down underneath the kick and prevent any return. The alternative strategy is generally to kick for the sidelines to prevent a catch or pin the returner. Directional kicking is what Seattle's Australian kicker Michael Dickson does brilliantly, along with controlling the spin (and thus roll) of the ball. The penalty on Pettus had helped Dickson when he allowed Jones a clean return, but then the Pats forced a punt down 19-7, Dickson's kick pinned New England inside their four yard line.
On the next drive, Maye completed a swing pass to Rhamondre Stevenson, a short one to Henry, and scrambled for 16 yards himself. But scrambles and short passes underneath the coverage were not going to get the Pats back in the game, and Maye's downfield effort in the middle of the field was intercepted by Julian Love. That led to another field goal, making it 22-7, though New England would then close the gap to 22-13 (missing a two point conversion) and on the next series Maye's pass to Kayshon Boutte was intercepted (it looked more like a forced fumble by Boutte) and returned for a pick six by Uchenna Nwosu for a 45 yard TD, making it 29-7 and game over.
Interestingly, according to Next Gen Stats, who track such things, when halftime star Bad Bunny had a football in his hand during his performance, he covered 144 yards. The entire Patriots rushing game managed only 79. No matter what you think of that, it had to be better than Kid Rock and Erika Kirk over on Turning Point's "alternative" half-time show. I don't actually know where the Bunny halftime ranks among the greats, I didn't see it as I was getting married the next day, and having watched the first half I waiting until morning to watch the second. I am also of the old school half time days, not that I yearn for Al Hirt or Up With People (google them!). I used to like the Florida A&M Marching 100, who were the official USA representatives at the bi-centennial of the French Revolution in 1989 – by then they weren't good enough for the NFL's pop music wardrobe malfunction war memorial extravaganzas.
Plus ça change, as Bad Bunny might say. Or the Seahawks, worthy champions of American football.
