SANTA CLARA — They are not the infamous Legion of Boom.
All-Pros do not abound. Individual personalities lean more toward quietly confident rather than brash.
But the 2025 Seattle Seahawks defense adopted its own “Dark Side” identity en route to Super Bowl LX.
And on Sunday before 70,823 at Levi’s Stadium, the unit showed the world that there is room for more than one hard-hitting, suffocating defense in Seahawks history.
The Seahawks shut down the New England Patriots in a 29-13 victory that earned the Seahawks their second Super title, their first since 2014.
“They lived up to the ‘Dark Side’ today,” said Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald as he held the Vince Lombardi Trophy on the winner’s stage. “It’s going to go down in the history books. We love our players. Look, they made it happened. They made it come to life — and we won the game.”
The defense forced three turnovers, Jason Myers kicked a Super Bowl record five field goals and running back Kenneth Walker III rushed for 135 yards to earn Super Bowl MVP honors as the Seahawks finished the season with 10 consecutive victories.
On a night when neither Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold nor Patriots quarterback Drake Maye found consistent rhythm, the Seahawks defense dominated.
Don’t misinterpret Macdonald and his team’s “we don’t care” mantra.
They care about each other. They care about their legacy.
And now they will care for the Lombardi Trophy.
“It’s been such a special journey with these guys,”Darnold said. “So much hard work that’s been poured into this. … Just a job well done.”
It was the second Super Bowl title in four years for Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV, receiver Cooper Kupp and running back Cam Akers, all of whom started in the Rams’ Super Bowl LVI victory over the Cincinnati Bengals in 2022.
On Sunday, Jones led a unit that harassed Maye and never let him get comfortable in or out of the pocket.
Linebacker Derick Hall and lineman Byron Murphy sacked Maye twice. Cornerback Devon Witherspoon sacked Maye in the first half, and in the fourth quarter hit Maye’s arm that resulted in linebacker Uchenna Nwosu’s interception return for a touchdown. Defensive end Rylie Mills also had a sack.
Hall made the game-turning play late in the third quarter when he sacked Maye and stripped the ball for a fumble that was recovered by Murphy at the Patriots’ 37-yard line. Five plays later, Darnold connected with tight end AJ Barner for a 16-yard touchdown pass — and it appeared the Seahawks were on their way to the first shutout in Super Bowl history.
But Maye came back and found Mack Hollins for a 24-yard gain, and then again on a 35-yard touchdown pass that pulled the Patriots to within 12 points.
Patriots fans no doubt envisioned a repeat of Super Bowl LI in 2017, when Tom Brady led the Patriots back from a 28-3 deficit to beat the Atlanta Falcons.
But the Seahawks made sure that was not going to happen.
Safety Julian Love picked off a Maye pass with 8:37 left, and Myers kicked his final field goal to increase the lead to 22-7.
Late in the fourth quarter, Witherspoon hit Maye and Nwosu grabbed the ball in the air and returned it 45 yards for a touchdown.
The Patriots got a late touchdown on Maye’s short pass to running back Rhamondre Stevenson with 2:21 left.
But that was all the Patriots could muster.
No Seahawks player was happier than Darnold.
The former San Clemente High star became the first former USC quarterback to win a Super Bowl as the starting quarterback.
Darnold, the third pick of the 2018 NFL draft, endured tough times with the New York Jets and Carolina Panthers before he spent a season as the backup for the San Francisco 49ers. He led the Minnesota Vikings to 14 victories in 2024, but the Vikings did not re-sign him.
The Seahawks welcomed him with open arms, and he helped lead them to a Super Bowl title.
Darnold completed 19 of 38 passes for 202 yards and a touchdown.
Kupp, the Super Bowl LVI most valuable player, caught six passes for 61 yards.
Maye, runner-up to Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford for the NFL most valuable player award, completed 27 of 43 passes for 295 yards and two touchdowns, with two interceptions.
The Seahawks’ victory completed a season that began with an NFC West loss to the San Francisco 49ers at Lumen Field.
The Seahawks rebounded and won their next three games, including road wins at Pittsburgh and Arizona, before losing again at home to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
But a victory at Jacksonville started a four-game winning streak that ended with a 21-19 defeat by the Rams at SoFi Stadium when Myers’ last-second, 62-yard field-goal attempt fell short.
The Seahawks did not lose again.
They beat the Titans at Tennessee to start a seven-game winning streak, during which they grabbed the No. 1 seed in the NFC. A thrilling 38-37 overtime victory over the Rams at Lumen Field in Week 16 cemented their status as the team to beat en route to a 14-3 record.
The Seahawks used a first-round bye to rest, heal and prepare, and then routed the 49ers in a divisional-round game before beating the Rams, 31-27, to advance to the Super Bowl.
“We went through a lot of adversity this season, but we came together … and this is what we got,” Walker said.
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