The ball hung in the air, and Seattle Seahawks safety Coby Bryant read it perfectly. The New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye went all in with a desperate two-point conversion with just over two minutes to go in Super Bowl LX, but it didn’t matter. Patriots tight end Hunter Henry arrived at the same moment, and a slight push by Seattle’s cornerback Josh Jobe sent bodies careening.

Bodies collided, hard, and Bryant went down along with Henry. Bryant, who had fought back from a Week 16 knee injury to play in the biggest game in football, had to be helped off the field. Even Henry was ruled questionable to return. The Seahawks were already on their way to a 29-13 victory, but suddenly it felt muted from the celebration.

Before that collision, Bryant had managed to put together a solid performance: four tackles and one pass defended. Nothing flashy, just the steady, reliable play that has characterized Seattle’s suffocating defense all season. With Bryant’s help, Seattle turned Super Bowl LX into a defensive clinic, imprisoning New England to only 51 total yards at halftime (third-lowest in Super Bowl history).

Drake Maye spent the game running for his life. Seattle managed to sack him six times, Derrick Hall and Byron Murphy II each got two. The “Dark Side” defense of the Seahawks, a nickname adopted throughout their run in the playoffs, lived up to its menacing name.

As for Coby Bryant, his injury occurred right after Maye’s seven-yard touchdown pass to Rhamondre Stevenson. The Patriots, trailing 29-7 after Uchenna Nwosu’s pick-six moments earlier, needed the two-point conversion in order to keep mathematical hope alive somehow. Instead, they received a lost effort and an injured player on both sides.

The Seahawks haven’t issued an official update as to the status of Bryant’s injury since he was helped off the field. But given his history with the knee injury suffered against the Los Angeles Rams back in December, any more evaluation will be closely monitored by Seattle’s medical staff. But for now, after ages, they have the biggest spotlight on them in sports history.

Seattle’s redemption on a decade-old defeat

For the Seahawks franchise, this Super Bowl LX victory means a whole lot more than just lifting the Lombardi Trophy. More than a decade after Seattle had the Lombardi snatched from them by the Patriots in Super Bowl XLIX, the Seahawks finally got revenge.

The Patriots’ defense got punished by running back Kenneth Walker III with 135 rushing yards, and quarterback Sam Darnold protected the football and delivered when needed, including a 16-yard touchdown pass to A.J. Barner in the fourth quarter. Kicker Jason Myers converted all five field goal attempts with Seattle making the most of the ability to get their offense in Patriots territory.

This marks the franchise’s second Super Bowl championship, joining their 43-8 demolition of the Denver Broncos in the 2013 season. This time, Seattle delivered exactly what their fanbase has craved for years: a resurgence of that legendary Legion of Boom era, even if the names across the back of the jerseys have changed. 

Meanwhile, in the locker room, medical staff examined Coby Bryant. The celebration, although ecstatic, felt incomplete without him. The next few days will tell us everything about Bryant’s status. But for now, Seattle’s got their revenge tour complete, and a Lombardi heading back home.