Defense won this championship.

Devon Witherspoon, Derick Hall, Byron Murphy and the rest of Mike Macdonald’s wild unit defeated Drake Maye, and the Seattle Seahawks beat the New England Patriots 29-13 on Sunday to win the franchise’s second Super Bowl.

Seattle’s victory denied New England what would have been a record seventh Super Bowl victory.

Sam Darnold threw a touchdown pass to AJ Barner, Kenneth Walker III ran for 135 yards and Jason Myers made all five of his field goal attempts.

Walker became the first running back to win the Super Bowl MVP award since Terrell Davis 28 years ago.

Uchenna Nwosu highlighted a sharp defensive performance by catching Maye’s pass in mid-air after being hit on the arm by Witherspoon and returning it 45 yards for a pick-6.

Seattle’s “Dark Side” defense helped Darnold become the first quarterback in the 2018 draft class to win a Super Bowl, ahead of Josh Allen, Baker Mayfield and Lamar Jackson.

“It’s a unique feeling, bro,” Witherspoon said. “You talk about a group of guys who fight every day, who believe in each other and believe in their coach, you can’t describe this group better. It’s just a unique feeling. I was so happy to fight with these guys. We went through a lot, but we believed.”

“All you doubters who said all those other things, you all don’t know what’s going on in this building. We’re one of one here.”

Labeled as doomed, dropped by two teams and considered expendable by the other two, Darnold proved his doubters wrong as he helped the Seahawks go 17-3.

After leading the NFL with 20 turnovers in the regular season, Darnold has had none in three playoff games. He wasn’t particularly sharp against a stout Patriots defense, but he protected the ball and made plenty of plays, finishing 19 of 38 for 202 yards.

“I know we won the Super Bowl, but we could have been a little better on offense, but I’m not interested in that right now,” Darnold said. “It feels amazing, man. I’m just happy for the guys in the locker room and the coaches who have put in so much effort all season.”

“To do this with this team, I wouldn’t want it any other way,” Darnold said. “I’m so proud of our guys, our defense. I mean, I can’t say enough good things about our defense, our special teams.”

Maye struggles against Seattle

The Seahawks sacked Maye six times, including two each by Hall and Murphy. Hall’s sack late in the third quarter created a short field and Darnold connected with Barner for a 16-yard pass to make it 19-0.

Julian Love’s interception set up another field goal to make it 22-7 at the 5:35 mark.

The Patriots (17-4) punted on their first eight drives, barring a kneel at the end of the first half.

Down 19-0, Maye and the New England offense finally got going. He hit Mack Hollins over the middle in traffic for 24 yards, then took a perfect 35-yard pass to Hollins down the left sideline to cut the deficit to 19-7.

Tom Brady once led Bill Belichick’s Patriots to the biggest comeback in Super Bowl history, when New England rallied from a 28-3 deficit against Atlanta to win 34-28 in overtime.

But Maye, who was runner-up to Matthew Stafford for the AP NFL MVP award in the tightest race in two decades, didn’t come close. He had a chance to get close, but his ill-advised pass into triple coverage was picked off by Love, and the Patriots trailed by 15 when they got the ball back with 5:35 left.

Then came Nwosu’s touchdown, a fitting way to top an incredible effort by the NFL’s stingiest defense.

Maye’s 7-yard TD pass to Rhamondre Stevenson late in the game only closed the gap.

The Seahawks took a 3-0 lead after Myers hit a 33-yard field goal on the first drive of the game. Myers connected on field goals of 39 and 41 yards to extend the lead to 9-0 at halftime. He was good for 41 on Seattle’s first drive of the third quarter to make it 12-0.

Cornerback Christian Gonzalez made two outstanding plays to prevent potential touchdowns in the second quarter. He sprinted back and jumped in the air to deflect a deep pass to Rasheed Shahid that could have been a 76-yard TD.

On Seattle’s final drive of the first half, Gonzalez knocked down a pass to All-Pro wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba that would have been a 23-yard TD.

Seattle denies Patriots history

But the Seahawks ended up being too much for New England. The Patriots fell short of winning the franchise’s seventh Super Bowl, which would have set an NFL record. They are currently tied with the Steelers with six championships.

AP NFL Coach of the Year Mike Vrabel also aimed to become the fifth person to win a Super Bowl as a player and head coach and the first to do both with the same team.

Maye was trying to become the youngest QB to win the Lombardi Trophy. Ben Roethlisberger still holds that mark.