Devon Witherspoon was robbed as Seahawks' Super Bowl MVP (and here is why)

Aside from Jason Myers and his Super Bowl record five made field goals, the Seattle Seahawks' offense was carried on the back of Kenneth Walker III for the first three quarters of the game. He ran for 135 yards, but racked up a total of 161 yards of total offense if you include his two receptions. 

Walker was, in a word, exceptional, and the Seahawks needed every single yard he gave them. In the end, Walker was awarded the Super Bowl MVP, and there's not much to argue against it. He became the first running back since Terrell Davis 28 years ago with the Denver Broncos to win Super Bowl MVP. 

However, as great as Walker was, and while his case for winning MVP is solid, was he the right Seahawks player to win it? Seattle's defense is littered with names who could have won MVP just as well. Devon Witherspoon, for example, walked away from the Super Bowl having made not just one, but two game-shattering plays, which is why the MVP could have been handed to him instead.

Seattle Seahawks' Devon Witherspoon did something in the Super Bowl that is rare

Again, Walker is a fine choice for the Super Bowl MVP, but Witherspoon has a solid case for winning it himself. Witherspoon was everywhere for the Seahawks, disrupting Drake Maye and the New England Patriots offensive rhythm. He made several massive plays that helped Seattle keep the game in their clutches. 

First, Witherspoon was able to get to Maye virtually untouched (with a very cold swim move) late in the first quarter to get a major sack that backed the Patriots up. Maye likely didn't even see him coming. Witherspoon was incredibly quick on that play, but he was pretty close to unstoppable all game.

Second, late in the fourth quarter, Witherspoon did everything to cause Maye to panic and throw a pick-six, which Uchenna Nwosu ran back for a game-sealing touchdown. Witherspoon won't get any credit on the play because it wasn't called a forced fumble; it was called an interception. Still, that play was all Witherspoon as he again got through the offensive line untouched. 

Both of these plays should have made Witherspoon the MVP alone. But that's not all that goes toward his case. From Week 1 to the NFC Championship game against the Los Angeles Rams, Witherspoon pass-rushed just 21 times. Against the Patriots, he did it six times and looked like he had been doing it six times a game for 20 games. 

The last time a defensive player won Super Bowl MVP was in 2016 when Von Miller helped the Denver Broncos defeat the Carolina Panthers. Then, the Broncos' defense was the story. The story of this year's Super Bowl was Seattle's suffocating defense, and Witherspoon was everywhere all the time.  This could have been, and should have been, his MVP.