Last night, the Seattle Seahawks handily beat the New England Patriots 29-13 to win Super Bowl LX. It was the Seahawks' second time hoisting the Vince Lombardi Trophy, and the team's first win in the Big Game since 2014. With an estimated 220 million viewers around the globe, let's go over some of our biggest takeaways from Super Bowl LX.
The Seahawks were clearly the best team in the NFL.
Sometimes, undeserving teams luck their way into Super Bowl victories. In fact, it's fair to say that, quite often, the best team in the National Football League doesn't end up winning it all. Last year, the 15-2 Detroit Lions failed to reach the Super Bowl despite having the best regular-season record in the league. In 2023, the Baltimore Ravens missed the Super Bowl after finishing with the best winning percentage in the NFL (.765). This season, though, the best team in the league actually won the Super Bowl.
The Seattle Seahawks were the most impressive team in the NFL during the regular season. They had a league-best 14-3 record while playing in the toughest division in football, going 4-2 against other NFC West opponents. Of the three teams Seattle lost to during the regular season, they wound up beating two of them in the playoffs. There was only one team they lost to this season that they didn't get revenge on: the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Also, it's not like Seattle squeaked by the teams they beat. The Seahawks KILLED their opponents all year long. They had the best point differential in the NFL (+191). Based on that number, the Seahawks' average margin of victory in their wins was 13.6 points, meaning Seattle basically won by two touchdowns on average in their 14 victories. They were even more impressive in the playoffs, with an average margin of victory of 18.3 points in the three games they played. The Seahawks, who looked like the best team in the league for the entirety of the 2025-26 season, played that way last night and are Super Bowl Champs today.
Drake Maye was awful.
Patriots second-year quarterback Drake Maye was arguably the worst player in Super Bowl LX. Just a few days after failing to be named the NFL MVP, Maye looked completely overwhelmed last night, and like the moment was too big for him. Granted, his offensive line wasn't doing him any favors, but we still have to talk about how Maye's inexperience shone through on the biggest stage imaginable.
From a passer rating and QBR standpoint, this was one of the worst performances of Maye's short career. The 16.3 QBR that he posted was the lowest mark of his career in any game that Maye started and finished. He also had a 79.1 passer rating, his second-lowest mark of the season.
If we're being honest, though, he didn't even deserve a passer rating that high. He only started padding his stats in the fourth quarter after the Patriots went down 19-0. In the final frame, Maye completed 19 of 27 passes for 235 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions. That means that through the first three quarters of the game, he was eight for 16 with 60 yards, zero touchdowns, and zero interceptions, which equates to a 59.4 passer rating. By comparison, Las Vegas Raider quarterback Aidan O'Connell posted a 59.3 passer rating in the only game he played this season, when he completed ten of 22 pass attempts for 102 yards. That means that when the pressure was on and the game was within reach, Drake Maye played as well as Aidan O'Connell did against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 18.
Everybody was giving Maye the benefit of the doubt because he was able to lead his team to the Super Bowl, but we can finally say that he was underwhelming in the playoffs. Despite attempting the most passes this postseason, he was tenth in QBR out of 14 quarterbacks who made a start in the 2026 NFL Playoffs. He might be the second-youngest quarterback ever to start a Super Bowl, but the problem is that he played like a young and inexperienced QB in the biggest game of his life.
Sam Darnold has completed his redemption arc.
The biggest story of Super Bowl LX was Sam Darnold and the unexpected journey of his NFL career. Many people tuned in to see whether Darnold would choke in the Big Game or write his name in the history books alongside other Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks. On Sunday, Darnold cemented his place in NFL history as the 36th different starting quarterback to win a Super Bowl.
With that victory, Sam Darnold has closed the chapter on the most tumultuous part of his career and has completely redeemed himself. Following a disappointing tenure with the New York Jets, Darnold was cast off to Carolina. Then he bounced around and looked poised to accept a role as a backup after joining the Minnesota Vikings. However, a season-ending injury to J.J. McCarthy thrust him into the starting role, where he threw for 4,319 yards and 35 touchdowns, earning himself a Pro Bowl berth. However, his disappointing play against the Los Angeles Rams in the 2025 NFL Playoffs cast a dark cloud on what was undoubtedly the best season of his pro career. His postseason shortcomings created uncertainty in the Twin Cities, so the Vikes moved on from him, and he signed with the Seahawks, where some fans and media members mocked the move. The same criticisms that followed Darnold his entire career continued to plague him during the 2025-26 season, even though he made a second consecutive Pro Bowl and led Seattle to the best record in the NFL. Last night, with the world watching, Darnold showed up time and time again and didn't make the mistakes that fans expected of him. Now, he’s a Super Bowl Champion and has closed the book on the first part of his career. From here on out, he's no longer fighting NFL Draft bust claims; he's creating a legacy and building a potential Hall of Fame resume.
For the entirety of his NFL career up until today, Sam Darnold has had to battle demons and disprove narratives. As the season progressed, the conversation changed from "Sam Darnold can't win" to "Sam Darnold can't win in big moments." Then, he won in multiple big moments, beating the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers to win the division and clinch the number-one seed in the NFC. However, that wasn’t good enough for fans who then said, "Sam Darnold can't win in the playoffs," a theory he disproved with a dominant win over the Niners. When fans claimed, "You can't expect Sam Darnold to win a playoff game for you," he had an MVP-caliber performance in the NFC Championship Game, throwing for 346 passing yards and three TDs. And when the lights were the brightest, and people said, "You can't trust him in the Super Bowl," Sam Darnold took care of the football and threw for 202 passing yards and a touchdown on his way to a 29-13 victory.
Sam Darnold is now done with his redemption arc. He went from NFL Draft bust to Super Bowl Champion and will now be viewed as an elite QB. From here, he can focus on the next part of his career, which will be continuing to build his legacy as one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL and maybe even becoming a future Hall of Famer. We’re a long way away from that happening, but if he continues to play the way he has the last two years, we will one day see his bust in Canton, Ohio.
The Will Campbell pick looks like a huge miss.
After Drake Maye's rookie season, it became glaringly obvious that the Patriots needed to make improvements to the offensive line. New England allowed 52 sacks during the 2024-25 season, tied for the fifth most in the NFL. It was imperative that the Pats beef up the O-line with a franchise left tackle, so they picked LSU standout Will Campbell with the fourth overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. At the time, this seemed like an obvious selection. After all, he was Pro Football Focus' highest-ranked offensive tackle during the 2025 NFL Draft process. However, this pick has seemingly backfired, since he was one of the main reasons why the Pats lost Super Bowl LX.
Campbell struggled in his rookie season. He personally allowed five sacks this year, which ranks 64th out of 89 eligible offensive tackles, according to Pro Football Focus. He ranked 55th in quarterback hits allowed and 43rd in quarterback pressures allowed. Campbell allowed 29 total pressures in the postseason, according to NFL Next Gen Stats, the most by any player in the 2026 NFL Playoffs. In the Super Bowl, he gave up 14 pressures alone, the most allowed by any offensive lineman in any game during the 2025-26 season. His poor play was evidenced by Drake Maye, who suffered six sacks last night and was running for his life most of the game.
Usually, we have to wait a couple of years into a player's career before we can label them as a gem or a bust. However, with certain positions - like wide receiver, defensive line, or offensive line - you can kind of get an idea of how good a player will be after their first season. In the playoffs, against some of the best defensive linemen in the NFL, there was no point where Will Campbell looked like an elite offensive tackle worthy of the fourth overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. Considering the Pats could've taken Offensive Rookie of the Year Tetairoa McMillan, or All-Rookie offensive tackles like Armand Membou or Kelvin Banks Jr., it’s fair to say Will Campbell was the wrong guy to take at that spot.
Special Teams matter.
Nobody ever wants to give credit to special teamers because that part of the game isn’t sexy. Nothing is exciting about efficiently making field goals or punting the football well. Regardless, it still makes up a third of NFL games, and last night, Seattle's special teams unit played a huge role in the Seahawks’ Super Bowl victory.
Understandably, we have to give kicker Jason Myers his flowers. During the regular season, he scored 171 points, which is a record for the most points scored by a player during a season without a touchdown. He also set a Super Bowl record yesterday for the most made field goals, going five for five on his attempts while accounting for 17 of Seattle's 29 points. Since the Pats scored 13 points, the Seahawks would’ve lost Super Bowl LX had Myers missed all of those attempts because they would've finished the game with only 12 points. Now that the postseason is behind us, Jason Myers stands alone as the record holder for the most points scored by any player ever in a single season with 202, crushing the previous record of 186 held by Hall of Fame running back Ladanian Tomlinson. On a night where Sam Darnold, running back Kenneth Walker III, and the Seahawks' defense were all celebrated, Jason Myers might have been Seattle's most valuable player.
We also have to recognize the outstanding performance of Michael Dickson, who has earned the title of "Best Punter in the NFL." In a game where field position played a critical part in the outcome, Dickson was sensational. Of his seven punts, three were downed within New England's six yard line. He also averaged 47.9 yards per punt, which is the fourth-highest mark in Super Bowl history. When the Pats did get a chance to return Dickson's punts, they couldn't make anything happen, finishing the game with four punt return yards after averaging 19 yards per game in their three previous playoff matchups. Dickson deserved to be a First-Team All-Pro, but was snubbed for the Baltimore Ravens' Jordan Stout and the Washington Commanders' Tress Way. After Super Bowl LX, though, Dickson has clearly emerged as the league's best punter.
We have to obviously give credit to the Seahawks' defense and offense for getting the job done when they had to. The defense scored a touchdown, and the offense did, too. But based on the way that Jason Myers and Michael Dickson played, it's fair to say that the Seattle Seahawks had the best overall special teams performance in Super Bowl History, which is one of the main reasons why they're champions today.
The halftime show was more interesting than the game.
This might be a controversial take, but the halftime show was arguably the best part of Super Bowl LX. The first half of the game featured nothing but field goals, with Seattle going into the break ahead 9-0. While the second half featured three touchdowns, the game was already looking like a blowout at that point. Therefore, Bad Bunny's halftime show performance was the most exciting thing that happened during the Big Game.
From the moment that Bad Bunny was confirmed as the headliner for the Super Bowl LX Halftime Show, the decision was met with a wide range of views and opinions that were usually fueled by people's political affiliations. Past Super Bowl halftime show performers like Jennifer Lopez and Bruno Mars praised the selection, while rapper Jay-Z, who is in charge of choosing the performer for the event, said, "We are honored to have him on the world's biggest stage." Conversely, U.S. President Donald Trump criticized the choice, calling it “absolutely ridiculous.”
The selection sparked a lot of debate because Bad Bunny famously sings almost entirely in Spanish. Some people, like President Trump, argued that his style is “ just a ‘slap in the face’ to our country.” The NFL dismissed these "criticisms," with commissioner Roger Goodell calling Bad Bunny "one of the great artists in the world" while refusing to make any changes to the selection despite being met with backlash by select groups of people in the U.S.
In the end, Bad Bunny put on a fantastic performance that highlighted many of the best aspects of Latin American culture while also promoting messages of peace and love. During the halftime show, a couple was legally married onstage. Also, Bad Bunny was seen holding a football that had "Together We Are America" written on it. The scoreboard of Levi's Stadium read "The only thing more powerful than hate is love" while Bad Bunny performed. He even used the spotlight to shout "God Bless America" in between songs while also naming every Latin American country at one point.
Overall, it was one of the best halftime show performances of all-time that aimed to unite the U.S. rather than divide it. Bad Bunny got to share his culture with many people who were probably unfamiliar with various aspects of Latin America. According to early reports from CBS News, 135 million people tuned into this year's halftime show, making it the most-watched performance in Super Bowl history, and the highlight of what could be considered a somewhat boring game.
