Defenses dominated the first three quarters of Super Bowl LX. Sam Darnold did a solid job of keeping the chains in motion, but the Seattle Seahawks' offense struggled to punch it in and had to settle for field goals five times.
The New England Patriots, on the other hand, never knew what hit them. Drake Maye was running for his life on every dropback, and he was only able to move the ball once the game was almost out of reach.
That's why former NFL head coach Rex Ryan, a fellow defensive specialist, tipped his hat to Mike Macdonald. Talking on ESPN's Get Up, he praised him for his game plan to put pressure on rookie left tackle Will Campbell, explaining how it disrupted the Patriots' offense as a whole.
Rex Ryan says the Seattle Seahawks' defense was 'an avalanche'
"Sometimes, when you hit the quarterback, the entire team feels it. Certainly, that's what we felt yesterday," Ryan said. "At no time did you think Seattle was not gonna blow this team out. Like, as soon as they score, it's gonna be an avalanche, and that's exactly what happened."
Will Campbell allowed 14 pressures in the Super Bowl, the most by any player in the playoffs this year, according to NFL Next Gen Stats. All in all, the Seahawks sacked Maye six times, taking his postseason total to 21, the most in NFL history.
Coach Macdonald was a master at picking up his matchups and exploiting the opposition's weaknesses. Maye wasn't as good when facing pressure this season, and the Seahawks' pass rush had four different players logging at least five pressures, per Next Gen Stats.
At the end of the day, the Patriots' lack of experience doomed them. It was painfully evident that Campbell and Maye just weren't ready for the big stage and for that type of defense, and it didn't take long for everybody on the Patriots to realize that.
Even though the Seahawks couldn't score a touchdown until the fourth quarter, it always felt like they were in complete control of the game. Technically, it was never out of reach, but there wasn't a single moment when it felt like the Patriots could legitimately put some pressure on them.
Sam Darnold didn't even need to do much to keep his team in contention. He just had to take care of the football, complete some quick-hitters, and keep the defense honest so Kenneth Walker III could do his thing on the ground.
Once again, the adage proved to be true: The offense wins games, but the defense wins championships, and this Seahawks Dark Side defense has the potential to win more than one of these.