Jamie Schwaberow/Sports Illustrated |
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By Greg Bishop After what seemed like a lost season, in which Sam Darnold threw only 46 passes and watched Super Bowl LVIII from the 49ers' sideline, he met with his private coach for their typical exit interview in early 2024. Five years of disappointment, ghosts and J-E-T-S had led to the apprenticeship in San Francisco. This marked a significant step. But toward where, exactly? Darnold knew he could start in the NFL. His 21–34 record in those seasons lacked context but said otherwise. He also knew what 49ers coaches had tried to keep private. They loved their starting quarterback, Brock Purdy. He led them to that Super Bowl. He would earn—and sign—one of the largest contracts in NFL history. Still, that adoration hadn't ended a season-long debate. Many at team headquarters didn't view Darnold as an above-average backup. They saw him as a starter. And some saw him as the better option. Darnold sat down in Jordan Palmer's office, and they spoke for hours, charting the path few outside that room, on that day, saw coming. It had taken six seasons for Darnold to morph into the best possible version of the quarterback he'd always known he could be. Others had seen the vision, too. Like those Jets, who drafted Darnold with the third pick in 2018. And those Niners; one season, that changed everything, wearing a headset rather than a helmet. Before the year in Minnesota and this season in Seattle, inside that office, Palmer asked Darnold what he'd learned. He wound to the part that mattered then and matters more now, because Darnold is back in a Super Bowl. Only, this time, he's the starter. No debate. |
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Simon Bruty/Sports Illustrated |
By Albert Breer The stories of speeches from coaches the night before the Super Bowl routinely grow into legend for the winners. And yet, Mike Macdonald felt the need for none of that as he stood before his players on Saturday night at the San Jose Marriott. He told them to stick to "our process." He told them that the next day was what the players earned. He told them to play, as always, loose and focused. He told them to stack plays. Macdonald was intentionally routine with them. Because he knew he was going into Super Bowl LX carrying a stacked deck. "I felt like our best gave us a great chance to win the game—and let's just focus on being that," he said, recalling the speech 24 hours later, in a quiet moment, leaning against the side of the tunnel at Levi's Stadium after Super Bowl LX. "Told the team I loved them, which, I tell them that every week. I told them I'll go crazy in my office thinking of stupid stuff to run, and then when I see them, I just feel way better. Because that's how awesome they are." And it turns out what he gave them Saturday night was more than enough. One more affirmation of what they already knew, which was that what got them here would be plenty. |
By Gilberto Manzano Patriots rookie left tackle Will Campbell shook his head repeatedly, and right tackle Morgan Moses said no while he stood in a daze next to his locker room. It probably didn't make sense to the offensive lineman to speak to the hordes of reporters who rushed through the Patriots' locker room minutes after their frustrating 29–13 loss to the Seahawks in Super Bowl LX at Levi's Stadium. No point in agreeing to an interview when there weren't answers for what went wrong on the field. The Seahawks pummeled second-year quarterback Drake Maye, with the New England offensive line allowing six sacks and 11 quarterback hits, including a 45-yard pick-six touchdown by edge rusher Uchenna Nwosu to put the game out of reach with less than five minutes left in regulation. There wasn't much Moses could do on that memorable play because defensive mastermind and Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald sent cornerback Devon Witherspoon on a blitz while Moses was blocking Nwosu. Over on the left side, Campbell had his hands full with defensive tackle Jarran Reed. Sending that extra player made all the difference in Maye losing the football and giving Seattle's vaunted defense a touchdown the city's fans will remember forever. |
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Simon Bruty/Sports Illustrated |
By Albert Breer The Patriots' season, despite how it ended, was still a massive success story. New England goes forward now with Drake Maye going into Year 3, and Mike Vrabel going into Year 2, way ahead of schedule, with a proof of concept that will help them this offseason. Now, part of this story is the path the Patriots took. Consider the list of quarterbacks that Patrick Mahomes faced in his seven AFC title game appearances: Tom Brady, Ryan Tannehill, Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, Burrow again, Lamar Jackson, and then Allen again. And in the year that Mahomes faced Tannehill, his divisional-round opponent was Deshaun Watson when he was a top-five (or so) quarterback, and in that game Mahomes had to come back from a 24–0 deficit.
So the fact that Maye and the Patriots didn't have to face Allen, Mahomes, Burrow or Jackson on their way to the Super Bowl is a stroke of good fortune that likely won't happen again anytime soon in the AFC bracket. But 17 wins is 17 wins, and New England turned its roster around quickly. That gives the Patriots a chance to prove this was more than the product of a shaky schedule. |
Simon Bruty/Sports Illustrated |
By Conor Orr First, inhale. The Seahawks' locker room is a competing mix of wafting cigar smoke from the various sticks burning between thick knuckles and stamped out in round, black ashtrays. Ashton Martins. Kingmakers. A special box of Meerapfel sitting in Leonard Williams's locker. A handful of offensive linemen gathered in a semicircle to organize a group shotgunning of Busch Lights while others played baseball with a crushed can and—what else—a champagne bottle in lieu of the Louisville Slugger. Some sat quietly on the outskirts, zoning out on their cell phones while sipping tall, thin glass bottles of Don Julio 1942 that retail for more than $140 a pop. A very small amount of gold Armand de Brignac was dotted throughout, though this was decidedly a Coors and Busch kind of party, with two giant laundry carts packed with ice and beer. General manager John Schneider leaned against the Gatorade cooler with a championship hat tucked just a little sideways on his head and revealed the t-shirt that showed a grainy copy of his father's high school football picture from 1952. This, while defensive coordinator Aden Durde walked by with his native Union Jack tucked in his back pocket, having just become the first British coach in NFL history to win a Super Bowl. |
Simon Bruty/Sports Illustrated |
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By Matt Verderame On a night of great runs, Kenneth Walker III's most explosive dash came in the bowels of Levi's Stadium. After doing television and podium interviews, Walker came into the Seahawks' jubilant locker room after Seattle's 29–13 victory in Super Bowl LX over the Patriots and took a few group photos with his position group before the media descended on him. For 16 seconds, Walker answered two quick questions as his eyes darted. Then, suddenly, he cut right and accelerated, exploding through a sea of crushed Bud Light cans and cigar ashes into a quiet retreat. On a night where the Seahawks' defense propelled them to the franchise's second championship, Walker was the engine of an offense in need of some horsepower. He was the first running back to be named MVP of the Super Bowl since Hall of Famer Terrell Davis 28 years ago, gaining 161 total yards on 29 touches. "That's [Walker], day after day," Seahawks rookie left guard Grey Zabel said. "He just goes to work, keeps his head down. He's an unbelievable football player. And to top it off, he's a better teammate and a better person. For him to have the success, there's nobody more deserving. It's so cool, so cool to see. It's a privilege to be able to block for him." |
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