The change in weather in Santa Clara was almost like an omen of what was to come.
Hours before Super Bowl LX began, the temperatures hovered in the mid-60s and the Northern California sun was gorgeous.
But just as the game got underway, a chilly breeze started swirling through Levi’s Stadium. People who had been sweating not long before suddenly reached for sweaters and hoodies.
You would think the drop in temperature would benefit the team from frosty Foxborough. But it turned out to signal the opposite: an impending storm the Seattle Seahawks were about to bring to the Patriots in a 29-13 thrashing.
“[The Seahawks] are a good football team,” head coach Mike Vrabel said. “And we’ll have to be able to learn from this and understand what we have to do to get back to this. And know how hard it is and how difficult every year is and that it starts over.”
The edge Seattle had on the Pats was apparent almost immediately. Neither team scored a touchdown in the first half, but Seattle was at least moving the ball and hitting field goals.
Meanwhile, Patriots quarterback Drake Maye, who finished second place in MVP voting, was stifled by the Dark Side defense of Seattle, which finished the night with six sacks, one short of tying the Super Bowl record. One of those sacks resulted in a fumble recovered by Seattle.
“It definitely hurts. It’s been a long ride. They played better than us tonight.”Drake Maye, Patriots quarterback
Maye ended up throwing for 295 yards and two touchdowns, but also had two interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown.
“It definitely hurts. It’s been a long ride,” Maye said after the game. “They played better than us tonight.”
The second-half was more bad news for New England as Sam Darnold and the Seahawks offense found their footing. Darnold finished his night with 202 yards, a touchdown pass and one of the more dramatic redemption arcs in football history. Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker III ran for 135 yards.
The Patriots will no doubt do their best to build on this unexpected run. Their defense was one of the best in the league. Vrabel has shown he is the kind of leader who can shepherd this team to even higher ground. And Maye, who outshot his expected career trajectory by at least a couple of years, is expected to be on the shortlist of best NFL quarterbacks for a while.
“Speaking for the whole team and myself, just what a journey it’s been for us,” Maye said. “I love this team, love those guys in that locker room... just came up short. Didn’t play our best and that’s what happens.”
The future in Foxborough should be bright. But the only banners they hang at Gillette are from Super Bowls. There’s not too much glory in what-ifs.
