SANTA CLARA, Calif.—From the start of this Super Bowl, the Seattle Seahawks defense had New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye running for his life. Back then, Seattle had a chance to take the lead and beat New England in Super Bowl XLIX. But the real surprise was that these two teams were in contention for the Super Bowl at all. Even as the Patriots made their way to the Super Bowl, they had issues protecting Maye in these playoffs. At the same time, New England’s defense, which finished the season fourth in points allowed, was doing its job against Darnold.

Source: Wall Street Journal February 09, 2026 06:40 UTC