How the Seattle Seahawks’ ‘genius’ play calls won Super Bowl LX

THE Seattle Seahawks absolutely dominated the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LX.

The Seahawks are among the best coached teams in the NFL, and their play calling was on full display on Sunday.

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Sam Darnold loads up to pass against the Patriots in the Super BowlCredit: Getty

Kenneth Walker runs with the ball before winning Super Bowl MVPCredit: Getty

Offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak is an incredible mind, and it resulted in him getting a head coaching job with the Las Vegas Raiders.

But first he had to show off one last time with his Seahawks.

His genius helped lead the team to a 29-13 win over the Patriots in a dominant affair.

But which players made the biggest impact? What did the Patriots do so wrong?

Those questions and more were answered on this week’s episode of The U.S. Sun Sport’s Football Xs and Os.

SUPER QBS

It was a tale of two quarterbacks on Super Bowl Sunday.

The Seahawks had the calm and composed Sam Darnold while the Patriots had Drake Maye, who looked like the moment was too big for him.

“What Sam Darnold was doing was being composed with the football, not forcing it into situations where you don’t need to, leaning on your running backs,” NFL expert David Scott said.

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“Meanwhile, Drake Maye had to try to put the team on his back while he had pressure bearing down on him from all sides.”

Now it wasn’t all Maye’s fault, as he has one of the worst offensive lines in the league.

He was sacked six times and was under pressure most of the night.

“You gotta give him a little bit of a break, that offensive line had a horrible night,” Scott said.

Maye had 295 yards and two touchdowns to Darnold’s 202 yards and one touchdown.

However, it was clear that Darnold had the much better night.

UNLIKELY MVP

While Darnold played well in the Super Bowl, it was running back Kenneth Walker who won MVP.

It was the first time since 1998 that a running back won Super Bowl MVP, but it was entirely deserved.

Walker ran for 135 yards and added 26 receiving yards in his MVP stat line.

“He kind of looked like prime Le’Veon Bell,” Scott said.

“He was so patient behind the line.”

Walker hasn’t been given the best chance to shine while sharing a backfield with Zach Charbonnet.

However, once he got a full opportunity in the playoffs, he ran with it.

“All the best running backs in football have the best field vision,” Scott continued.

“Walker was predicting the entire play every time he was on the field.”

Walker is a free agent this year, and is going to command a decent payday now that he is a Super Bowl MVP.

BARN STORMER

An underrated part of the Seahawks is their tight end room, especially AJ Barner.

He has come through in the clutch throughout the NFL season, and continued that trend in the Super Bowl.

His touchdown practically clinched the game, but Kubiak deserves a lot of the credit for the score.

He ran Barner on a tight end scissor out of the backfield that left the defense entirely confused.

“This is just pure genius from a scheme standpoint,” Scott said.

“This is how you scheme someone wide open.”

The touchdown put the Seahawks up 19-0, and the Patriots would never overcome that score.

HEAD SCRATCHER

Eventually, the Patriots got the score to 19-7 and had a real chance to get back in the game.

That was until Maye threw a head-scratching interception that sealed the deal for the Seahawks.

“Drake Maye got crazy, he kind of overthought it a little bit,” Scott said.

“Julian Love ends up coming down with the interception. It’s a little bit boneheaded.”

The Patriots were in a situation where they didn’t need to force the ball down the field, but an inexperienced Maye tried to fit the ball into a tight window.

It didn’t work out for him.

“You’re in desperation mode, yes, but it’s second-and-three,” Scott said.

On this play, Maye had two receivers open for short passes on the outside that would’ve picked up a first down and kept the drive alive.

KICKING AND SCREAMING

Jason Myers kicks a field goal against the Patriots in the Super BowlCredit: Getty

“It was an absolute clinic from the kickers,” host Daniel Cutts said.

“They couldn’t have had a better game from that point of view.”

If not for Kenneth Walker’s big game, Seahawks kicker Jason Myers could have won Super Bowl MVP.

He was five-for-five on field goals and made two extra points.

Myers contributed 17 of the Seahawks’ 29 points with his leg.

“Up until maybe the last eight minutes of the game I really thought that it was going to go to Myers,” Scott said.

Myers would have been the first kicker to win Super Bowl MVP in NFL history if he was given the honor.

What happens to the fine money?

THE NFL regularly fines athletes tens of thousands of dollars every week during the season.

But where does the money go?

The NFL claims about $4 million a year has been used to support worthy causes since 2011.

According to the NFL operations website, “The fines collected are donated to the Professional Athletes Foundation to support Legends in need and the NFL Foundation to further support the health, safety and wellness of athletes across all levels, including youth football and the communities that support the game.”