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The Seattle Seahawks’ defense earned the organization another championship in Super Bowl 60. A dozen years after “The Legion of Boom” dominated the Broncos 43‑8 in Super Bowl 48, “The Dark Side” delivered the long‑awaited sequel, shutting down the Patriots for a commanding 29‑13 victory on Sunday.
Seattle took the lead on its first possession, 3‑0, led 9‑0 at halftime, 12‑0 after three quarters, and 19‑0 early in the fourth. Although New England avoided becoming the first team to be shut out in a Super Bowl with two late garbage‑time touchdowns, there was never any sense that the AFC champion would mount a real comeback.
The Seahawks lived up to their 14‑3 regular-season record when the lights were brightest, winning the tough NFC West as the best team and top seed in the conference. They also fielded the NFL’s top scoring defense, allowing just 17.2 points per game. That Dark Side Defense -- cool nickname and all -- was on full display against the Patriots, the team that boasted the AFC’s highest-scoring offense, averaging 28.8 points per game.
Seattle became the first top-scoring defense in the regular season to win the Super Bowl since the 2016 Patriots in Super Bowl 51. That’s happened 15 times in 60 Super Bowls—25 percent of the time.
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Here’s a look at how the Seahawks’ defensive performance stacks up against the greatest in Super Bowl history:
The Seahawks' pass rush was '85 Bears-like
Seattle was credited officially with six sacks of Patriots QB Drake Maye, falling just one short of tying the record of seven held by the 1975 Steelers (Super Bowl 10), 1985 Bears (Super Bowl 20), 2015 Broncos (Super Bowl 50) and 2021 Rams (Super Bowl 56). The 2025 Seahawks also bested the 2007 Giants, who had five sacks of Tom Brady in their shocking Super Bowl 42 upset over the Patriots.
Maye felt the heat from both natural front-four pressure and timely blitzing from Mike MacDonald and the Seahawks. End Derick Hall and tackle Byron Murphy II had two each. Cornerback Devon Witherspoon and backup tackle Rylie Mills also got on the board.
The Seahawks scored on defense once again
When the Seahawks beat the Broncos in Super Bowl 48, game MVP Malcolm Smith returned an interception 69 yards for a touchdown to make it 22-0 at halftime. Linebacker Uchenna Nwosu returned an interception 45 yards for a touchdown to make it 29-7 in the fourth quarter, another insurmountable 22-point lead. That was the 28th defensive touchdown in Super Bowl history.
The Seahawks got the magic three takeaways
Super Bowl history says teams who force three or more turnovers in the game win 87 percent of the time (40-6). The Seahawks matched what last year's Eagles did in Super Bowl 59 vs. the Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs. Before Nwosu jumped a short pass by Maye and took it to the house, forcing a fumble and an errant deep throw from Maye already put the Seahawks in prime position to win.
The Seahawks hit lucky 13 for "The 12s"
There has been only one team that scored 13 or fewer points in a Super Bowl and won. That was the Patriots, who were the better defensive team in a 13‑3 win over the Rams in Super Bowl 53. Otherwise, teams that have failed to score at least 14 points in a Super Bowl are 0‑22. That includes the opponents of the 1985 Bears (also the Patriots), the 2000 Ravens (the Giants), the 2013 Seahawks (the Broncos), the 2015 Broncos (the Panthers) and the 2020 Buccaneers (the Chiefs).
Seattle didn’t get a historic unprecedented Super Bowl shutout and failed to keep New England under double-digit points in the end, either of which would have been a true indication of how dominant the Seahawks were in Super Bowl 60. But it would have probably been near Super Bowl-low scoring for the Patriots had the Seahawks not pulled away and been OK giving up meaningless cosmetic scores.
MORE: How Seahawks defense preyed on Drake Maye’s tendency to turn the ball over
The Seahawks dominated vs. the run, too
The 1985 Bears held the Patriots to only seven rushing yards in Super Bowl 20, a record that will be difficult to beat. The Patriots managed only 79 rushing yards, with Maye accounting for 37 of them. Super Bowl defenses that hold opponents below 80 yards typically win the game. The Eagles held the Chiefs to only 49 yards last year, with Mahomes leading that team in rushing with 25 yards.
The Seahawks were the No. 3 run defense in the regular season and tops in the NFC, giving up an average of 91.9 rushing yards per game. They were even more dominant in stifling the Patriots when Maye wasn’t scrambling.
The 1985 Bears, the 2000 Ravens, the 1972 Dolphins, the 2002 Buccaneers and 1975 Steelers are still considered in a special, dominant realm. Of late, the 2013 Seahawks and 2015 Broncos have deserved to be juxtaposed with them for what they did to respective MVP QBs Peyton Manning and Cam Newton in the modern offensive era. What the 2025 Seahawks did to MVP runner-up Maye and the Patriots can now also be mentioned in the same breath.
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