After one of the best games ever played by a cornerback in a Super Bowl, Devon Witherspoon was ready to talk. In an on-field interview, as confetti flew and the 12s went wild, he told the NBC broadcast:
“All y’all doubters out there who said that other stuff… ya’ll don’t know what’s going on in this building. Might have a drink, or two, or three.”
Devon Witherspoon deserves those drinks. Four tackles. A sack. A pass defense. He would have had another strip sack had Uchenna Nwosu’s pick-six been ruled a fumble, as it was originally called. In all, Witherspoon and his teammates made New England’s offense look ordinary at best. At worst, they made Drake Maye look like a befuddled kid and his teammates look helpless.
Debon Witherspoon and the Seahawks' Dark Side turn out the lights on New England
Spoon didn’t exactly clarify what he meant by the “doubters” and “all that other stuff,” but I think it has been pretty clear for a long time. As the Seattle Seahawks knocked off one team after another throughout the season, the doubters would not shut up.
“You can’t trust Sam Darnold.” “Sure, the defense is pretty good, but it’s not Houston-good. Or Denver-good. It’s not even Philly-good.” “Other than Smith-Njigba, who do they even have on offense?” Yep, the doubters had Seattle falling to Philly or San Fran. If they made it that far, they’d never get by the Rams.
Seattle proved them all wrong.
Darnold was poised. He wasn’t exactly sharp, but going against a relentless Patriots' defense, he played a clean game and made plays when he had to. Kenneth Walker, AJ Barner, and Cooper Kupp proved that, as great as JSN was all year, the Seahawks were not a one-man show.
And as for the defense being “that good,” when the game was on the line, it was stifling. Six sacks. Three turnovers. A touchdown. Until a couple of late scores by New England, a shutout seemed like a genuine possibility.
So what has been going on in that building all year long? Mike Macdonald has talked about it from day one. So have the players. They trust each other. They play for each other. We saw it when Ernest Jones IV stood up for Sam Darnold. We saw it when Kenneth Walker dedicated the win to his injured teammate Zach Charbonnet.
This team believed that it could not only win but could dominate the best in the league. They knew that by getting through San Francisco and the Rams, they could handle anyone.
The Seahawks are too gracious to say it, but the 12 knew that the real Super Bowl was played two weeks ago when the Hawks outlasted league MVP Matthew Stafford and the Rams.
That’s because they knew that this was as complete a team as there is in the league. They have plus talent at almost every position.
They have the best kicker and punter tandem in the league. They have the most dangerous kick returner and the best coverage units. They have underrated players across the offense, beginning with the QB and the running back, but extending to Barner and multiple members of the offensive line.
And most of all, they have the Dark Side – the best defense in the league. We all watched as that defense grew last season. They began to adapt to Mike Macdonald’s complex systems. They added crucial pieces like Jones last year – the veteran DeMarcus Lawrence and the rookie Nick Emmanwori this year. The additions brought skill, smarts, and attitude.
In Levi’s Stadium on Sunday, that defense stepped out of the Legion of Boom’s shadow and wrote their own chapter.
On his first quarter sack, Devon Witherspoon came flying in from off the line, cutting toward the middle of the field and blowing past the Patriots’ veteran tackle Morgan Moses. Before Moses could even move, Spoon was bearing down on Drake Maye. Moses seemed to wave at the Seahawk defender as he streaked by.
It proved to be symbolic of the entire night, and quite possibly a taste of things to come. This team is very young and very talented.
That’s something that Spoon and all the 12s have known for a long time now.