SANTA CLARA, Calif.—From the start of this Super Bowl, the Seattle Seahawks defense had New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye running for his life.

Time after time, the star passer dropped back to pass only to be instantly swarmed by Seattle defenders. By halftime, Maye had thrown for nearly as many yards as the Patriots had allowed in sacks. With nowhere for New England to hide, it didn’t take long for a harrowing reality to set in.

Seattle’s suffocating formula was about to deliver the Seahawks their second championship. And in the process, the Seahawks would exact revenge on the team that denied them a title 11 years ago.

In a defensive showing for the ages, Seattle smothered New England 29-13 at Levi’s Stadium, shutting down one of the NFL’s top offenses to claim the Lombardi Trophy. The performance will go down as one of the greatest in this game’s 60-year history, with the Seahawks keeping the Patriots off the scoreboard entirely until the fourth quarter.

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By the end of the game, it was clear that Seattle coach Mike Macdonald’s defense had managed a performance with little precedent. Through three quarters, the Patriots had as many completions (eight) as punts. Maye was sacked a total of six times. And Maye, who finished second in MVP voting, was forced into three turnovers—the last of which was returned by linebacker Uchenna Nwosu for a touchdown to seal the victory.

It wasn’t the prettiest game. But it was a tour de force from the NFL’s No. 1 destroyers of offense.

“We never wavered,” Macdonald said. “And now we’re world champions.”

It wasn’t so long ago that New England beat Seattle with one of the greatest defensive plays in Super Bowl history, a moment that haunts Seahawks fans to this day. Back then, Seattle had a chance to take the lead and beat New England in Super Bowl XLIX. But instead of giving the ball to stalwart running back Marshawn Lynch, quarterback Russell Wilson ran a pass play and threw an interception to the Patriots’ Malcolm Butler.

More than a decade later, neither the Seahawks nor the Patriots resembled those versions of themselves—and neither did the outcome. Seattle had been favorites since long before kickoff. But the real surprise was that these two teams were in contention for the Super Bowl at all. The Seahawks were 60-to-1 long shots to win it at the start of the year, while the Patriots were given even slimmer chances at 80-to-1.

But both wound up winning 14 games after undergoing unexpected transformations. In Seattle’s case, free-agent signing Sam Darnold proved to be the team’s answer at quarterback. Wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba emerged as the top pass catcher in the sport. And the defense morphed into the stingiest unit in the entire sport.

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Over the course of the regular season, Seattle allowed just 17.2 points per game—the fewest in the league. Then, on the biggest stage, it delivered its masterpiece by exploiting New England’s greatest weakness.

Even as the Patriots made their way to the Super Bowl, they had issues protecting Maye in these playoffs. The 23-year-old in just his second season had been sacked 15 times across his first three postseason games.

Seattle’s defense, meanwhile, had one of the top pressure rates in the NFL. It was a recipe for the Seahawks to feast.

Over the course of New England’s first four possessions, Maye was brought down in the backfield three times. In other instances, Seahawks defenders forced mistakes simply by charging into his vicinity. By halftime, Maye had only 48 passing yards—and had been sacked for 30.

At the same time, New England’s defense, which finished the season fourth in points allowed, was doing its job against Darnold. While Seattle moved the ball with some success, the Patriots clamped down and kept them out of the end zone. That limited the Seahawks to just three field goals in the first half and a 9-0 lead at the break.

But while the Patriots’ front kept the heat on Darnold, limiting the Seahawks to only three points in the third quarter, Maye couldn’t find a way through. New England’s first three possessions of the half all ended without a first down. On the next one, Maye was sacked for a fifth time and stripped of the ball in the process.

That’s when the Patriots’ defense finally broke for good. Starting with the ball on New England’s side of the field, Darnold connected with tight end AJ Barner for the game’s first touchdown, two minutes into the fourth quarter, to make the game 19-0.

Only then did the Patriots finally get onto the board with a 35-yard touchdown pass from Maye to receiver Mack Hollins.

Football – NFL – Super Bowl LX – New England Patriots v Seattle Seahawks – Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara, California, United States – February 8, 2026 Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald celebrates with the Vince Lombardi Trophy after Seattle Seahawks won the Super Bowl LX REUTERS/Mike Blake TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

And for a moment, that score gave New England a bit of hope. Only the Seahawks defense sealed it up with two more statement plays. On the next possession, they intercepted Maye and soon set up kicker Jason Myers’s fifth field goal of the game, a Super Bowl record. Right after that, more pressure forced Maye into the interception returned for a score.

When the Pats added another touchdown with a couple minutes left, it was too little, too late.

The scariest thing for the rest of the NFL is that these Seahawks might not soften up anytime soon. Macdonald, the coach, is one of the game’s brightest defensive minds at only 38 years old. The four players who had Seattle’s six sacks—Derick Hall, Rylie Mills, Devon Witherspoon and Byron Murphy II—are all 25 or younger.

And unlike this year, the Seahawks won’t fly into next season under the radar. Everyone just watched them hoist the Lombardi Trophy.

Write to Andrew Beaton at andrew.beaton@wsj.com