Super Bowl LX was…something. I don’t think anyone came into this game expecting a shootout, but I don’t think anyone saw this coming. The Seattle Seahawks just suffocated the New England Patriots all game long, and they made Drake Maye look like a rookie for most of the game.

This game wasn’t as close as the final score indicated. It may have been a 16-point game, but it was really a 22-point game. Seattle’s defense did everything. They pressured the quarterback, they were attached at the hip in coverage, and they never allowed New England to establish a run game. The Seahawks’ offense has been great this year, but their defense has been the backbone of this team.

I will say Super Bowl LX was a breath of fresh air. The NFL is all about offenses and elite quarterback play, but to see two of the best defenses in the league go toe-to-toe in the Super Bowl proves that, no matter how much the NFL wants high-scoring games to drive ratings, defenses still win championships.

One of the Best Defensive Performances in Recent Memory

Drake Maye was the MVP runner-up, but he certainly didn’t look like it tonight. He hasn’t looked great throughout the playoffs, but you could make the argument that the weather played a big factor in that. You couldn’t make that argument on Sunday, which was a picture-perfect night.

In the first half, Seattle was absolutely dominant. They held New England to 51 net yards and 18 net passing yards while giving up just four first downs and 2.0 yards per play. They also put Maye under pressure on pretty much every dropback and sacked him three times for 30 yards.

The second half was a whole lot of the same. I know New England scored 13 points, but only seven of them came when it really mattered. Seattle sacked Maye three more times, picked him off twice, and returned one of those interceptions for a touchdown. Their defense gave up a few big plays through the air, but overall, it was another dominant half of football for Mike Macdonald’s unit.

Overall, Seattle gave up 13 points and 4.9 yards per play, six third-down conversions on 15 attempts, and forced three turnovers. Take away that garbage-time touchdown, and this has to be considered one of the best defensive efforts in a Super Bowl in the 21st century.

Seattle’s Historic Run

Entering the Super Bowl, the Seahawks were on a historic run defensively. In their two playoff games, they gave up 30 total points (15 per game), but that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

Over their last eight games entering Super Bowl LX, the Seahawks gave up an average of 13.5 points per game. That’s already absurd, but when you take out their two matchups against the Los Angeles Rams, who had the No. 1 scoring offense in the league this season, they gave up 7.3 PPG in their last six. Yeah, that’s ridiculous.

And it’s not like Seattle was just playing bums during that stretch. As I said, they played the No. 1 scoring offense twice, but they also played the Kyle Shanahan-led 49ers twice and held them to nine total points and zero touchdowns. That’s four of their last eight games coming against two of the best offenses in the league.

This has to be one of the most dominant runs to end a season we’ve seen from a defense in a long time.

2025 Was Defined by Elite Defenses

The Seahawks’ defense was incredibly good this year, but they weren’t the only ones. The NFL playoffs consist of 14 teams: seven from the NFC and seven from the AFC. Of the 14 teams to make the playoffs this season, 10 of them ranked in the top-12 in scoring defense, and 13 of them ranked in the top-17. Only the Chicago Bears did not meet that criteria, finishing 23rd after surrendering 24.3 PPG.

The only four teams to finish in the top-17 in scoring defense and not make the playoffs were Kansas City (5th), Minnesota (7th), Cleveland (13th) and New Orleans (14th). And that’s because their offenses ranked 20th, 26th, 28th, and 31st, respectively.

While 80 percent of the top-10 scoring defenses made the playoffs, only 60 percent of the top-10 scoring offenses made the playoffs. Detroit (4th), Dallas (5th), Indianapolis (7th), and Baltimore (10th) all missed the postseason despite having some of the best offenses in the league.

Once these teams got to the playoffs, the elite defenses dominated. Seattle and New England, who obviously made the Super Bowl, finished the year ranked first and second in scoring defense. Denver, which made it to the AFC Championship and very well could’ve made a trip to Santa Clara if it weren’t for Bo Nix’s injury, finished fourth. The Rams, who made it to the NFC Championship, were the only semi-finalist without a top-five defense, but their unit still ranked 10th during the regular season.

The six teams that were eliminated in the Wild Card Round ranked 13th, 12th, 9th, 7th, 6th, and 5th in scoring defense among playoff teams. The entire top four made it to the Divisional Round, and three of them made it to the Conference Championship Round.

In an era where offense has dominated, this season was defined by elite defenses.

Are We Moving Back to Old School Football?

The old adage “defense wins championships” has been around for a long, long time. A lot of sayings our parents had as kids haven’t stuck around, but this one has stuck. That’s because it’s absolutely true.

13 quarterbacks in NFL history have won 2+ rings, combining to total 37 Super Bowls. Of those 37 Super Bowls, just five of those have been won without a top-10 scoring defense. Eli Manning did it twice, and Peyton Manning, Jim Plunkett, and Patrick Mahomes have all done it one time. That’s it.

Tom Brady (7), Terry Bradshaw (4), and Joe Montana (4) have the most Super Bowl wins of any quarterbacks in the NFL. Together, they account for 25 percent of Super Bowl victories in league history, but none of them have won it all without a top-10 scoring defense. That shows you how hard it is to win it all without an elite defense.

But offenses have taken over the NFL this century, so surely you don’t need a top-10 defense to win it all anymore, right? Nope. Over the past 10 years, only one team has won the Super Bowl without a top-10 scoring defense, and that was the Patrick Mahomes-led Chiefs.

Well, what about since the turn of the century? Only five teams outside of the Chiefs have accomplished that feat since 2000, and they were led by Drew Brees, Peyton Manning, Eli Manning, and Joe Flacco, who all rank top-15 all-time in passing yards. When you remove those six outliers that won it all without a top-10 defense, teams that win the Super Bowl have the No. 3 scoring defense on average, but only the No. 7 scoring offense.

The quarterbacks and offenses may get all of the love nowadays, but one thing is still true: defenses win championships.