The story of the National Football League postseason this year was defense. Elite defenses, or near elite, were the trademark for teams that the experts thought could make a run in the postseason. Hell, the Houston Texans were part of this sentiment. Many experts backed them going into the playoffs solely based on their defense.
In the end, we wound up with two excellent defenses squaring off in Santa Clara for all the marbles — the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks, who were arguably even better than the Texans. For a half, it was all about the defense, with the Seahawks taking a 9-0 lead into the locker room.
Then came Bad Bunny’s halftime show, and then came the rest of the ass whooping by the Seahawks, as they rode the legs of Kenneth Walker and three Drake Maye turnovers to a 29-13 win over the Patriots. Indeed, as Patriot Super Bowls go, this one was a lot more like the 1985 Bears bludgeoning Tony Eason than it was any of the Tom Brady Super Bowls. So let’s get to the winners and losers from yesterday’s bloodbath:
WINNERS
4. Christian Gonzalez
I’ll start this with the one bright spot for the New England Patriots. Were it not for some of the Gonzalez exploits in coverage in the first half of the game, it could have been much uglier than a 9-0 deficit. Gonzalez had three pass breakups, including one on a deep ball attempt to Rashi Shani’s, and then one on a play near the goal line. Gonzalez is one of the best young corners in football, and showed it on Sunday.
3. Jason Myers
For a while, it was looking like Meyers might be the MVP of the game, as his three field goals were the only scoring in the first half, and another field goal made it a 12-0 lead. Ultimately, Myers’ five field goals set a Super Bowl record, as did his total of 17 points scored. Special teams were great for Seattle all year, and Meyers was a shining example of that on Sunday.
2. Kenneth Walker
The actual MVP of the game was Walker, who finished with 135 yards on 27 carries. Walker earned the MVP largely with his performance in the first half, where he carried the ball 14 times for 94 yards, and was the only consistently good thing on offense for either team. Walker will be a free agent after this season, and it wouldn’t be a bad thing to see him in a Texans uniform.
1. America
The fact that the New England Patriots, after a three year slide out of the postseason, were back in the Super Bowl so quickly shows that the football gods can be mean. However, the fact that the Patriots, and their insufferable fans (especially the famous ones) were embarrassed on a big stage means that the football gods can be benevolent, at times. America got to watch the Patriots suffer for four hours, and thus, America was a big winner.
LOSERS
4. Boston chowderheads
If America was a winner, it means that Boston, the region of New England, and loudmouths like Dave Portnoy of Barstool and Mark Wahlberg were the big losers. All postseason long, the Boston fan base was acting like this version of the Patriots was just an extension of the Brady Super Bowl teams, despite being a complete dumpster fire on offense throughout the playoffs. These people were exposed badly on Sunday.
3. Mike Vrabel game manager
Mike Vrabel was a deserving Coach of the Year winner, let me say that up front. However, he had a meathead moment in this game that, if his team had mounted a full comeback, would have been far more questioned by the football watching public. When the Patriots finally got on the scoreboard, early in the fourth quarter, with a touchdown to cut the lead to 19-6, Vrabel opted to kick the PAT to make it 19-7. He should have gone for two there to try to make it 19-8, and bring a possible field goal into play, if his team worked their way into position to tie the game late. Bad look for a good coach.
2. Forlorn Texans fans
I’m not gonna lie. Watching the pregame presentation, with the introductions and all the pomp and circumstance, the anger and sadness of the Texans getting knocked out of the playoffs all returned. Then, when this game was evolving into a low scoring street fight for the first three quarters, it hurt to know that THIS was the exact type of game that the Texans would have loved playing in. I don’t think they would have beaten Seattle. Nobody was beating them last night. However, I think the Texans would have given them a better fight than the Patriots did.
- Drake Maye
In just his second season, Drake Maye fell five points short of winning the MVP award. Ultimately, the Rams’ Matthew Stafford won the award, and I suppose we can use their performances against the Seahawks as evidence that the voters who voted for Stafford got it right. Stafford played fantastic in three all out wars against the Seahawks. Maye, on the other hand, looked timid all night, turned the ball over three times, and put up all of his stats after the game was out of reach, and the Seahawks went into prevent defense mode. Unlike the other subpar performances by Maye in these playoffs, weather was no excuse. He was just flat out bad on Sunday.
This article appears in Private: Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2026.