crush

SANTA CLARA — Sam Darnold did not really know what to say.

So as the Seattle Seahawks quarterback stood on stage at Levi’s Stadium after becoming a Super Bowl champion, he made a few comments thanking teammates and fans before ultimately boiling it down to this:

“Just a job well done,” he said.

The words were simple. Concise. And captured the essence of a player who traveled a road filled with disappointments and setbacks but always believed in himself.

On Sunday, Darnold was far from spectacular. But the former San Clemente High and USC star played error-free, tossed a touchdown pass and let running back Kenneth Walker III, kicker Jason Myers and a dominating defense do the rest in a 29-13 victory over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LX.

It was the Seahawks second Super Bowl title, their first since 2014.

That Seahawks team featured the legendary “Legion of Boom” defense.

This year’s defense dubbed itself the “Dark Side.” All-Pros do not abound. Individual personalities lean more toward quietly confident rather than brash.

And on Sunday, it lit up the stadium by harassing Patriots quarterback Drake Maye into three turnovers and sacking him six times.

Linebacker Derick Hall forced a third-quarter fumble that turned the momentum. Safety Julian Love ended any real chance of a comeback with a fourth-quarter interception. And, after cornerback Devon Witherspoon hit Maye’s arm on a blitz, linebacker Uchenna Nwosu returned an interception for a touchdown.

Patriots quarterback Drake Maye throws an interception as he is hit by Seahawks cornerback Devon Witherspoon in the fourth quarter of Seattle’s 29-13 win in Super Bowl LX on Sunday.

(Adam Hunger / Associated Press)

“They lived up to the ‘Dark Side’ today,” Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said as he held the Vince Lombardi Trophy on the winner’s stage. “It’s going to go down in the history books.”

Myers made history by kicking a Super Bowl-record five field goals. Walker rushed for 135 yards and was voted the game’s most valuable player, the first running back to win the award since Terrell Davis in 1998.

But the story of the Seahawks’ season revolved around Darnold.

The third pick in the 2018 draft endured tough times with the New York Jets and Carolina Panthers before he spent a season as the backup for the San Francisco 49ers. In 2024, he led the Minnesota Vikings to 14 victories but the team did not re-sign him.

The Seahawks welcomed him with open arms, and he became the first former USC quarterback to start a Super Bowl.

Is this what the Seahawks envisioned when they signed Darnold to a three-year deal with $55 million in guarantees?

Seahawks coach Mike MacDonald holds the Vince Lombardi Trophy on stage in front of Sam Darnold and Kenneth Walker III following a 29-13 win over the New England Patriots on Sunday.

(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)

“Yeah, absolutely,” general manager John Schneider said in a celebratory locker room filled with cigar smoke and champagne. “The person, the leader — he’s the ultimate competitor.”

On Sunday, Darnold was not nearly as sharp as he was in a pivotal Week 16 overtime victory over the Rams, and the NFC championship game against the Rams.

But early in the fourth quarter, he connected with tight end AJ Barner for a touchdown that gave the Seahawks a 19-0 lead. He completed 19 of 38 passes for 202 yards. He did not have a pass intercepted. He did not fumble.

“I feel like I could have been a lot better,” he said. “Feel like we could have scored more points, to be quite frank. But again, we got the job done.”

A job well done by Darnold all season, teammates said.

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold throws a pass during the second half against the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LX on Sunday.

(Charlie Riedel / Associated Press)

“That’s the heartbeat,” linebacker Ernest Jones IV said. “Truly the heartbeat of our team.”

Receiver Cooper Kupp marveled at Darnold’s “redemption story.”

“I don’t know if there’s a quarterback in NFL history that’s done what he’s done,” Kupp said after catching six passes for 61 yards.

Kupp and Jones can speak with authority about redemption.

Last March, the Rams released Kupp, the 2021 NFL offensive player of the year and most valuable player of Super Bowl LVI at SoFi Stadium. He signed with his home state Seahawks and instantly became a veteran leader.

Now he’s a two-time Super Bowl champion.

“Sounds pretty good,” Kupp said, grinning. “That’s unbelievable, man.

“The story that’s been written, my story, I don’t know if I could have written a better ending to this year. Some really tough times this year, and to be in this place, be able to go through this year with these guys, it’s one of the most fun years I’ve had.”

Jones started for the Rams in Super Bowl LVI as a rookie but rather than extending him after his third year, the team traded him to Tennessee before last season. The Titans later traded him to the Seahawks, who gave him a three-year extension last spring.

“It’s amazing, man,” Jones said of being a two-time champion. “Those California Super Bowls — I like those.”

After Darnold’s touchdown pass, it appeared the Seahawks were on their way to the first shutout in Super Bowl history. But Maye came back and fired a touchdown pass to Mack Hollins, pulling the Patriots to within 12 points.

Patriots fans perhaps envisioned a repeat of Super Bowl LI in 2017, when Tom Brady led the Patriots back from a 28-3 deficit to beat the Atlanta Falcons.

But the Seahawks made sure that was not going to happen.

Love picked off a Maye pass, and Myers kicked his final field goal to increase the lead to 22-7. Late in the fourth quarter, Witherspoon hit Maye, and Nwosu grabbed the ball in the air and returned it 45 yards for a 29-7 lead.

The Seahawks were on their way to finishing the season with their 10th consecutive victory.

Maye, runner-up to Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford for the NFL most valuable player award, completed 27 of 43 passes for 295 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions.

“They had applied some pressure where they got us a few times,” Maye said, “and we’ve got to be better with the football and make better decisions and I’ve got to make better throws when the game goes like that.”

When it was over, Darnold was holding the Vince Lombardi Trophy on stage.

Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold, left, and running back Kenneth Walker III celebrate on stage after a 29-13 win over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LX on Sunday.

(Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images)

“I was like, ‘This thing’s a lot lighter than I thought it was,’” he said. “But it was great just to be able to hold that trophy and finally enjoy it.”

Darnold will enjoy something else: He will now forever be known as Super Bowl-champion Sam Darnold.

“It’s special, man,” he said. “I’m not going to lie — it’s a dream come true. It really is.

“Just going to continue to lean in to that, and soak it all in.”