The most impressive thing an NFL team can do is make a Super Bowl boring. Every fan wants to see a back-and-forth thriller, but strangling your opponent and turning the game into a completely one-sided affair is the best way to assert yourself as a dominant champion.
That's exactly what the Seahawks did last night against the Patriots.
New England's defense deserves some credit for helping to make the game a total slog (neither team scored a touchdown in the first three quarters) but Seattle at least moved the ball enough to muster four field goals before it finally reached the end zone in the fourth quarter. Darnold also struggled against pressure from the New England defense, but avoided making the same mistakes Drake Maye made that had the Patriots spinning their wheels. New England punted on its first eight possessions of the game, excluding the kneeldown at the end of the first half.
The Seahawks' defensive pressure was simply too much for Maye and the Patriots offense to withstand. Maye was sacked six times, one shy of the Super Bowl record. (Seattle appeared to tie the record, but Uchenna Nwosu's defensive touchdown in the fourth quarter was later changed from a sack and fumble recovery to an interception.) Maye and the Patriots had no answer for Mike Macdonald's defensive game plan. New England's offensive line, which featured two rookies, couldn't create enough holes to effectively run the ball or impede pass rushers long enough for Maye to throw it.
No comments:
Post a Comment