Sam Darnold achieved once-unimaginable glory for his stunning comeback story, Aden Durde made NFL history and the Seattle Seahawks became Super Bowl champions for the second time, defeating the New England Patriots 29-13 on Sunday at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara.

Mike Macdonald’s No. 1 scoring defense has the final, decisive, masterful say in the 2025 NFL season, sacking Drake Maye six times and intercepting him twice while recovering a fumble in a suffocating performance against the Patriots’ second-year quarterback.

Uchenna Nwosu’s 44-yard interception return, Darnold’s touchdown pass to AJ Barner, Jason Myers’ Super Bowl-record five field goals, and Julian Love’s fourth-quarter pick eliminated any threat of a Maye comeback.

Darnold, playing for his fifth team and in his eighth season as the third overall pick in 2018, buried his outdated career obituary and reached football immortality after signing a $100.5 million contract with the organization last offseason.

Meanwhile, Seahawks defensive coordinator Dude, a Londoner who became the first British-born coordinator to coach in a Super Bowl, a former London Warriors coach and founder of the league’s international player pipeline program, played a major role in orchestrating Seattle’s rampant “dark side” defense.

Kenneth Walker rushed for 135 yards, Derick Hall and Byron Murphy II had two sacks each, and Darnold Barley needed to call on NFL receiving leader Jaxon Smith-Njigba as Cal’s defense dominated.

Bad Bunny made history as the first Latino and Spanish-speaking artist to sing solo during the Super Bowl halftime show, lighting up a beacon at Levi’s that symbolizes California’s diversity and the NFL’s commitment to a global audience.

The Puerto Rican artist ended his performance by serenading the Latin American flag with the words “The only thing stronger than hate is love” written on the big screen, a symbol of unity that comes at a time of heightened tensions across the United States over concerns about Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.

Statistics Leader:

seahawks

• pass: Sam Darnold, 19/38, 202 yards, 1 TD
• rush: Kenneth Walker III, 27 carries, 135 yards.
• take over: Cooper Kupp, 6 catches, 61 yards

patriots

• pass: Derek Meyer, 27/43, 295 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs
• rush: Derek Meyer, 5 catches, 37 yards
• take over: Mike Hollins, 4 catches, 78 yards, 1 touchdown

Meyer’s streak of turnovers was one of the few blemishes on an otherwise stellar season, but it stuck with him late in the third quarter when he was stripped of the ball by Hall.

Darnold punished his sophomore rival Barner with a 16-yard touchdown run, and Barner signaled across the formation to create a tight split formation, then sneaked out of the corner route and broke open to catch the quarterback’s pass for a 19-0 lead with 13.24 seconds left.

In the first sign of the Patriots’ offense all game long, Meyer attacked a tight window in the middle of the field with a beautiful dagger to Mack Hollins for a 24-yard gain. He then returned to his favorite splash target on the next play, a back-shoulder pass to Hollins for a 35-yard touchdown that cut the deficit to 19-7 with 12.27 seconds left.

Suddenly, there was a spark between Meyer and Josh McDaniels, with the former seemingly growing in confidence until disaster struck when he was intercepted by Love at the Seahawks’ 27 with 8.49 remaining.

Then he gifted a pick-six that would embody the Seahawks at their all-out and fearsome best, with Devon Witherspoon scorching the edge, inciting Meyer to drop the ball and find the sharp hands of Nwosu, who swaggered the ball back for a 44-yard inside call.

Meyer’s consolation touchdown pass to Rhamondre Stevenson in the final seconds capped a tough day, but the damage had already been done. The 2024 third overall pick has been seeking to become the first quarterback since Tom Brady in 2001 to win a Super Bowl the same year as his first NFL playoff appearance.

Charlie Puth’s vocals blend with thunderous Air Force flyovers, beautiful fireworks and a raucous “Is This Seattle?” Before the game, everyone has a perfect Super Bowl cocktail. The arrival of Super Bowl MVPs such as Tom Brady and Joe Montana triggered an explosion of patriotism for the Patriots. Levi’s Stadium was buzzing with unpredictability, and an air of mystery hung over Santa Clara before a final game that few predicted.

What happened next was probably what many expected. A tough, tenacious two-way defense from two of the league’s top defensemen, along with some physical running from Walker and three field goals from Myers, gave Seattle a 9-0 lead at halftime. Seattle quickly extended their kicking cushion early in the second half with a 41-yard field goal from Myers at the end of 10 plays.

On the final play of the second quarter, Patriots cornerback Christian Gonzalez broke up a touchdown pass to Smith-Ngiba on the edge of the end zone, emphasizing the defensive tone of the day.

It was his second key breakthrough of the first half, after his stunning leaps and turns to deny the soaring Rashid Shaheed, one of his few long-range shots, in the first two quarters.

The Patriots had little offense in the first half, with Meyer sacked three times and passing for only 48 yards.

The defeat cost the Patriots a record seventh Super Bowl title, while the Seahawks sought revenge for a loss to New England in Super Bowl 49 that ended with Malcolm Butler’s iconic goal-line interception.

One of the most wide-open NFL seasons in recent memory has come to an end, with the Seahawks catapulting themselves into the top spot in one of the most unlikely Super Bowl matchups in history.