And then there were two.
The Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots are set to meet in Super Bowl LX, arriving at the top in two very different ways on Sunday.
The Patriots edged the Denver Broncos in a 10-7 win defined by defence and the snowy, blustery conditions that made for a picturesque yet messy matchup.
There was no lack of offence when the L.A. Rams and Seattle Seahawks hit the field, and despite L.A. outgaining the home side through the air and on the ground, it was Sam Darnold’s squad that outlasted their divisional foes to get back to the Super Bowl stage with a 31-27 victory.
Here are our takeaways from two very different games.
Darnold leaves no doubt with clutch performance
Sam Darnold is Super Bowl-bound. How he got to this point, standing on the NFC Championship stage in Seattle, is remarkable considering the journey. He was labelled a bust with the New York Jets, a backup in Carolina and San Francisco, then revived his career in Minnesota before signing in Seattle. It seems like he’s lived a hundred football lives, and he’s still just 28 years old.
Even with last year’s regular-season success as a Viking, and this year’s explosive campaign in Seattle, there were plenty of doubts about Darnold during the lead-up to this NFC showdown. Prior to this post-season, his only playoff experience was last year’s Wild Card collapse against the Rams as a member of the Vikings.
He made sure Sunday’s rematch in Seattle brought better results.
Darnold looked every bit the starting QB in Seattle’s 31-27 victory. In fact, he looked better than ever, posting a season-high 346 passing yards and three touchdowns to power the Seahawks past the Rams at home. He completed 25 of 36 pass attempts and while he was sacked three times, he played a really clean game. After throwing a combined six interceptions in two regular-season matchups against L.A., Darnold threw none on Sunday.
Stafford plays like an MVP, but can’t close out win
While Darnold emerged victorious, Matthew Stafford is worthy of all the praise, too. Stafford made solving Seattle’s top-ranked defence look easy at times, racking up 357 passing yards for three touchdowns. He was sacked just once, and didn’t commit any turnovers. He even ran for a first down!
After a shootout of a third quarter, the fourth had all the makings of the same. But when faced with a fourth and four at Seattle’s six-yard line with five minutes left in the 31-27 game, Stafford couldn’t pull out the game-saving play. A short pass to tight end Terrance Ferguson was expertly defended by Devon Witherspoon, and the Seahawks took control.
After keeping pace with the Seahawks for the first half, Stafford was forced to play catch-up for most of the second after special-teams struggles struck in the third quarter. After L.A.’s defence forced a punt, Rams punt returner Xavier Smith muffed the catch and turned what should’ve been a chance for the Rams’ offence to take control of the game into a prime Seahawks opportunity, which Darnold wasted no time capitalizing on.
Smith-Njigba, Nacua take turns in WR spotlight
We just watched a masterclass in explosive offences, and what a wild ride it was. The football stars don’t always align to give us such an enticing offensive matchup, but after the all-defence clash between the Patriots and Broncos earlier on Sunday… well, we deserved this one.
All season long, Seattle’s Jaxon Smith-Njigba and L.A.’s Puka Nacua have been pretty much unstoppable. That was the case on Sunday night. Smith-Njigba was the unquestioned star of Seattle’s win, registering 153 receiving yards on 10 catches, three of which came during a second-quarter series that saw JSN get Seattle into striking distance with a 42-yard snag before cashing in a 14-yard TD catch regain the lead.
His performance was special, but not surprising considering what he’s been doing all season. The same goes for his Rams counterpart in Nacua, who led all receivers on the field on Sunday with 165 yards. He caught nine of 14 targets for one touchdown — a late, long, diving reception at the goal line that made the game a one-score affair going into the fourth quarter.
Patriots’ powerful defence exploits Stidham’s inexperience in win over Broncos
With Bo Nix sidelined after breaking his ankle late in the Broncos’ Divisional Round victory, Jarrett Stidham had the opportunity of a lifetime to play hero in Denver. And while he showed off his arm with a flawless 52-yard completion to Marvin Mims on Denver’s second drive of the day, and then completed a short pass to Courtland Sutton to open the scoring, his lack of in-game experience ultimately showed — the Patriots’ dominant defence made sure of that. New England kept the pressure on the QB, and gave him little to work with, forcing him into errors at pivotal times.
Late in the second quarter, on third down at Denver’s 33-yard line, Stidham backtracked to try to escape pressure, then attempted a shovel pass as Patriots linebacker Christian Elliss made contact, with the ball tumbling out of Stidham’s hands and hitting the ground before being scooped up by the Patriots and run into the endzone.
The play was as messy for Stidham as it was for the on-field officials, who blew the ball dead, then flagged Stidham for intentional grounding and a loss of down. Following replay assist, they instead called the play a fumble on a backward pass, but didn’t award New England the defensive touchdown due to the whistle. Instead, the Patriots were awarded the ball deep in Broncos territory, quickly cashing in to tie the game 7-7.
It was a pivotal moment in the game, marking a significant change in momentum after New England had punted on its first four drives of the day. Even with his struggles, Stidham had a chance to play hero late, but instead sailed a ball deep in the snowy fourth quarter that was easily picked off by Christian Gonzalez to essentially seal the game.
Maye’s run games makes all the difference
Stidham wasn’t the only QB who struggled to rack up yards through the air. Patriots quarterback Drake Maye was held to just 10 completions on 21 attempts, registering a mere 86 yards and being sacked five times. But after struggling to hold onto the ball this post-season against the Chargers and Texans, Maye didn’t commit a single turnover against Denver and what he lacked in air attack, he made up for with his legs.
He had 10 scrambles on Sunday, including some incredibly clutch plays. His six-yard dash to the endzone in the second half, after Stidham’s fumble, was New England’s lone TD on the day. His explosive 28-yard run on third down in the third quarter was crucial in getting the Patriots into field goal position for the go-ahead three points that ultimately decided the game. And with less than two minutes to go and a ticket to the Super Bowl on the line, Maye’s gutsy seven-yard scramble earned the Patriots the final first-down required to run out the clock.
Payton forgoes field goal attempt early, pays the price late
In a game as defensively-driven as Sunday’s matinee in Denver, every point mattered. The wild weather that descended on Denver in the second half rendered the game’s already scarce offence nearly non-existent, and ultimately amplified the scrutiny of a second-quarter decision made by Sean Payton.
Early in that quarter, the Broncos were deep in Patriots territory thanks to a solid drive downfield that had Denver looking firmly in control. But then things stalled, and with Denver facing fourth and one at New England’s 14-yard line, Payton opted to go for it rather than try a field-goal attempt to increase their lead to 10-0. The gamble did not pay off, with Stidham failing to connect a short pass to RJ Harvey, turning it over on downs and keeping the game a one-score affair.
Hindsight is 20/20, but considering the Patriots’ eventual three-point win margin over the home team, we could be talking about a very different outcome had Payton chosen the safer route and sent kicker Will Lutz out to kick.
It should be noted, of course, that Sunday turned out to be a tough day for kickers — as the wind started to swirl, kicking success was far from guaranteed. The Broncos and Patriots exchanged missed field goal attempts late in the first half, the Patriots missed another after the snow started to fall in the third, and the Broncos’ game-tying field goal attempt in the fourth quarter likely would’ve split the uprights had backup tackle Leonard Taylor III not gotten a hand on it in a sensational — and potentially game-saving, at that point — block.
Asked about the decision post-game, Payton said he “felt like we had momentum” at that point in time, and that he liked his team’s call with the opportunity to go up 14-0. In a game of what-ifs, this one looms large.
