The big takeaway from the Seattle Seahawks' victory over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LX was that Mike Macdonald created one of the most dominant defenses in NFL history. Patriots quarterback Drake Maye nearly won MVP, and he was completely overwhelmed.
The Patriots punted on all eight of their first drives and didn't score until they were down by 19 points in the fourth quarter. Maye himself, who turned in a three-turnover performance that was punctuated by a Uchenna Nwosu pick-six that sealed the game.
In a "mic'd up" clip released on the official NFL social media accounts, safety Julian Love said that whenever Maye hit his back foot, he was pausing to confirm that his receiver was open before throwing the ball. Love called that move a "classic young quarterback" decision, and that was all the blood in the water the Seahawks needed to really go into attack mode.
Seahawks safety Coby Bryant also noted that Maye could have been tipping his pitches, as he was leaning back to wind up whenever he was attempting a deep ball. Love's scouting report seemed to work well, as he eventually picked off an errant Maye pass in the fourth quarter.
Seahawks safety Julian Love was in Drake Maye's head in viral "mic'd up" clip
Seattle was inside New England's head all game long, as cornerback Devon Witherspoon said that Macdonald found some sort of tell in the Patriots' offensive line that informed the defense as to what plays they were going to run. Maye looked like someone who was a bit overwhelmed by the entire moment.
Maye's playoff run, punctuated by his struggles against Seattle, was one of the worst extended stretches in NFL postseason history. Maye is already top 10 in NFL history in postseason fumbles, and his EPA was among the worst of any such quarterback who made it to the big game.
Maye was so good in the regular season that it's easy to forget he is only in his second campaign. He looked like someone who didn't have any answers for Seattle's relentless pressure, and the result led to him getting flattened by an elite defense time and time again.
The Seahawks knew exactly what Maye was going to do, and that should have been the first sign that nothing New England could gave tried on the offensive side of the ball was going to work.