Super Bowl Takeaways for the 2025 NFL Season
Eleven years ago, the Patriots and Seahawks played in the Super Bowl. New England won after an infamous play call led to an INT. It took a while, but Seattle got their revenge. In expected fashion, their defense smothered the NE offense and made the game largely non-competitive. The better team won the game, and for once, all of our media takes ended up correct. To make things even more fun, sportsbooks lost BIG. We’ve been on this road together all season, and I’m afraid the 2025 season ends here. Let’s do this one last week: read on for my Super Bowl takeaways! Don’t worry; we’ve still got draft coverage galore up ahead.
(1) Seattle Seahawks 29, (2) New England Patriots 13
I declared Seattle the Super Bowl winners once they beat the Rams in the NFC Championship game. A week later, I doubled down by slotting them last in my first mock draft of the season, an honor reserved for the SB champion. As it turns out, I undersold the dominance that the Seahawks’ defense would demonstrate. Seattle didn’t start out so hot on offense though. New England won the toss and deferred, but they wouldn’t kick to returner Rashid Shaheed (2/27) in this game. A great sideline catch by WR Cooper Kupp (6/61), the team’s leading receiver and now a 2-time SB winner, set up a first-drive FG, and that was it for Q1.
I have to give a ton of credit to the Patriots’ defense. They’ve been the team’s better unit all year (regardless of the attention given to QB Drake Maye), and they made life miserable for Seahawks QB Sam Darnold. Early on, he just missed a big TD to WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba (4/27) under pressure, and that relentless assault continued all night. Darnold (19/38, 202 yards, TD) didn’t have a great stat line and barely completed a pass in the first half, but he didn’t turn the ball over. In a defensive struggle, that was huge. Seattle had 0 turnovers all postseason. His escapes were also magnificent, and despite many free rushers, he took just 1 sack.
In true Bill Belichick fashion, the Patriots shut down the opposing team’s best weapon (JSN). CB Christian Gonzalez in particular was fantastic, breaking up two passes that would’ve gone for massive gains or scores. That required someone else to beat them, and on this night, it was RB Kenneth Walker III. Regardless of the traffic at the line of scrimmage, he picked up yards. Walker (27/135; 2/26 receiving) had a couple of big runs to set up the team’s second FG and was the one consistent offensive engine. New England’s aggressive defensive approach paid dividends, allowing just 4 field goals through 3 quarters of play.
Unfortunately for that unit, the offense didn’t hold up its end of the bargain. Part of the problem was the offensive line. LT Will Campbell, the fourth-overall pick this year, continued his playoff struggles. He was a turnstile most of the night, leading to endless pressure. Fellow rookie LG Jared Wilson lost a rush to rookie DL Riley Mills, who took down both Wilson and Maye simultaneously. In total, the line ceded 6 sacks, and Maye felt the pressure. He began missing routine throws because he sped up his process too much. For some reason, OC Josh McDaniels didn’t stick with the run game, with RBs taking just 13 carries.
The bigger story was Seattle’s defense though. Football’s #1 point deniers, the Seahawks swarmed. CB Devon Witherspoon covered well but also blitzed numerous times to great effect. He got home for one sack and forced some throwaways. The defensive line won the line of scrimmage even when they only rushed 4 men. DT Byron Murphy II and OLB Derrick Hall had two sacks each, and the DL ceded just 79 total rushing yards. Seattle pitched 3 shutout quarters, keeping their own struggling offense afloat. After halftime, New England tried to adjust but simply couldn’t find an answer until garbage time.
Seattle’s offensive adjustments went better, with Darnold completing more passes and moving the chains with regularity. The plan only produced 3 more points in the 3rd frame, but a 12-0 lead felt insurmountable. It was. A Hall strip sack handed the Seahawks a short field, and TE AJ Barner (4/54/1) caught the game’s first TD. On New England’s next drive, a couple of lucky passes helped them avert a shutout, and Seattle had a bit of a scare with JSN sent for a concussion evaluation. While he did return, his absence caused the offense to struggle again, but Maye threw an ugly INT that led to yet another field goal.
The FG was the 5th of the game for K Jason Myers, who set a Super Bowl record in the process. Special teams served Seattle well in this game. P Michael Dickson showed why he was the league’s best, constantly pinning the Pats deep inside their own 10. Even when NE went all-out for a block, Dickson booted the ball rugby-style and out of bounds at the 6. Honestly, Shaheed simply fair catching a bunch of punts helped. Ask the Rams if those sure hands matter. All three phases contributed to this win. The Patriots are known for being elite on special teams, but Seattle was flawless in the game’s oft-overlooked third phase.
On New England’s next drive following the FG, Witherspoon then blitzed again, forcing what seemed to be a fumble but was changed to a pick six for LB Uchenna Nwosu. With the Seahawks up 29-7 with 4:27 to go, the confetti may as well have already fallen. Pats RB Rhamondre Stevenson (7/23; 5/40/1 receiving) made a great shoestring TD catch to make the final score look a bit better, but this was a blowout. Stevenson should’ve gotten the ball more throughout the game, as he was the primary reason Seattle gave up their first offensive 4th-quarter points since 2023. This was closer than you think to the first-ever SB shutout.
Maye (27/43, 295 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs; 5/37 rushing) had his worst game of the year, earning most of his stats with the game out of reach. It wasn’t all his fault, as he had no help. He led the team in rushing, and WR Stefon Diggs (3/37) and Kayshon Boutte (1/21) were nonfactors. Regardless, it was a rough day for the second-year QB, who will hopefully learn from this experience. Coaching and defense got this team as far as it could, and it was a wildly successful season despite this disappointing result. I hate to say I told you so, but I’ve called the Patriots frauds for a while. They proved me correct on the biggest stage.
Seattle was as advertised. The passing game wasn’t quite humming, but the old Darnold would’ve thrown the game away. He’s a new man these days, and he became the first QB from the 2018 draft to win a ring. I love that for him. Walker’s fantastic performance earned him MVP honors, which was a deserved outcome. Most of all, the “Dark Side” defense demolished anyone who stood between them and glory. HC Mike Macdonald called a masterful game, completely flummoxing Maye. Scarily, this team isn’t a one-season wonder. They have a stable foundation that’ll make them contenders for years to come. Congrats 12s!