The Seattle Seahawks (17-3 straight up, 15-5 against the spread) dominated Super Bowl LX from start to finish, trouncing New England 29-13 as 4.5-point favorites. The 42 combined points slithered ‘under’ the 45-point total.
Mike Macdonald’s defense put the clamps on Drake Maye and the New England offense, holding them scoreless for more than three quarters. Seattle running back Kenneth Walker carried the load offensively with 135 rushing yards on 27 carries, becoming the first RB to win Super Bowl MVP honors in 28 years. He cashed +700 tickets to win MVP honors.
To their credit, the Patriots defense kept them in the game by limiting the Seahawks to field goals. Seattle kicker Jason Myers buried field goals from 33, 39 and 41 yards out in the first half to give his team a 9-0 lead at halftime.
Myers added a 41-yarder with 9:12 remaining in the third quarter for a 12-0 advantage. Seattle quarterback Sam Darnold found tight end AJ Barner for a 16-yard touchdown pass with 13:24 left for a 19-0 lead.
DraftKings had Barner with +1300 (or 13/1) odds to score the game’s first TD and his anytime TD odds were +240.
New England (17-4 SU, 13-8 ATS) finally got on the board when Maye found WR Mack Hollins for a 35-yard TD pass to cap a three-play, 65-yard drive. However, New England head coach inexplicably decided to kick the extra point, cutting the deficit to 19-7 with 12:27 remaining.
The inexcusable mistake didn’t end up mattering, but you have to go for two in that situation to make it an 11-point game. In that scenario, a subsequent field goal would’ve made it a one-possession game.
New England appeared to possibly have some life after getting a stop four plays later. The Patriots moved the chains with Maye’s 13-yard pass to RB Rhamondre Stevenson and the QB’s 16-yard scramble.
However, on a second-and-three play from its own 44 with 8:49 left, Maye was intercepted by safety Julian Love, who returned the pick 35 yards to New England’s 38. Walker had runs of 14 and 10 yards before the drive stalled, setting up Myers for a 26-yard field goal.
Four plays later, Seattle DE Uchenna Nwosu intercepted Maye and returned it 45 yards for a TD to give his club a 29-7 lead with 4:27 remaining.
The Patriots went 65 yards in eight plays on their next drive, scoring on Maye’s seven-yard TD pass to Stevenson, who had +160 anytime TD odds. The two-point conversion attempt failed with 2:21 left.
After New England’s onside kick attempt failed, Vrabel’s team used its final two timeouts, leaving Seattle with a third-and-13 play with 2:10 remaining. Walker broke free for a 49-yard TD run that momentarily had ‘over’ backers (hand raised) thinking they had just bagged an extremely fortunate winner.
But it wasn’t to be as Jalen Sundell was flagged for a holding penalty.
After Seattle buried New England at its own 6 with a punt, the Patriots were able to gain 65 yards on six plays before time ran out.
It wasn’t Darnold’s best performance, but all he needed to do was take care of the football with his defense dominating. He did just that, completing 19-of-38 passes for 202 yards and one TD without an interception.
WR Cooper Kupp had six receptions for 61 yards, while Barner had four catches for 54 yards and one TD. WR Jaxson Smith-Njigba was limited to four receptions for 27 yards, as bettors backing his ‘over’ for 93.5 receiving yards were left feeling foolish (hand raised).
Maye’s stats are misleading, as he got most of his passing yards with the game out of reach. He connected on 27-of-43 throws for 295 yards and two TDs with two interceptions, but he also coughed up a fumble for a third turnover. The UNC product had a team-best 37 rushing yards on five attempts.
Maye’s ‘over/under’ for rushing yards was in the 36.5 to 37.5 range, so the result of that wager depended on what number gamblers had when placing their bet.
Hollins had four receptions for 78 yards and one TD. Stevenson, who was limited to 23 rushing yards on seven carries, caught five balls for 40 receiving yards and one TD.
Another popular wager was New England backup RB TreVeyon Henderson’s rushing yards to go ‘over.’ This number was 18.5 for nearly two weeks, but many books moved it to 19.5 on Saturday and some shops got to 20.5 or 21 on Sunday afternoon. Henderson ended up with 19 rushing yards on six attempts.
“The plan was to get to Maye, disrupt him. We knew he was their whole team,” Nwosu said after his team’s victory. “We knew if we affected him, their whole game plan would be nothing. … Drake’s a great guy, has a lot of talent and a bright future ahead of him.”
“This is fuel,” Maye said he told teammates after the game. “If it’s not, then I don’t know what the feeling would do for you. Because this is tough.”
FanDuel has the Seahawks as +750 ‘chalk’ to repeat and win Super Bowl LXI next season. New England has 17/1 odds, the 10th-shortest number on the board.