On Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026, Santa Clara, California, hosted Super Bowl LX at Levi Stadium. This highly anticipated matchup was between the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots, a rematch of one of the “wildest” endings in Super Bowl history, per the ESPN website. Nearly 11 years after this game, the same two teams face off again on football’s biggest stage.
This is the second-ever Super Bowl that has been held at Levi Stadium; the first being the Denver Broncos vs. the Carolina Panthers ten years prior in 2016.
The NFC champion Seahawks are led by veteran quarterback Sam Darnold and a star-studded defense. They ended the regular season with a 14-3 record, the best in their franchise’s history. The AFC champion Patriots are led by MVP candidate Drake Maye and first-year head coach Mike Vrabel. They also ended the regular season with a 14-3 record; their best since their historic Super Bowl comeback win in 2016 against the Atlanta Falcons.
The Super Bowl kicked off with Charlie Puth’s rendition of The Star-Spangled Banner and the announcement of the winner of the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award. In previous years, players such as Dak Prescott in 2022, Russell Wilson in 2020, and J.J. Watt in 2017 brought home the award. This year’s award was given to Washington Commanders veteran middle linebacker Bobby Wagner. The coin toss between the two teams’ captains was won by the Patriots, and they chose to kick it off to the Seahawks to start the game.
First Quarter:
On the Seahawks’ first drive of the game, Darnold led an almost three-minute-drive that ended in a field goal by kicker Jason Myers. This was just the first of many field goals throughout the game. The ensuing possession by the Patriots showed promise, as Maye would complete a couple of first downs in the air and run for one first down also. But ultimately ended in a punt by the 2022 Big Ten Punter of the Year, Bryan Baringer. This trend continued throughout the rest of the first quarter with both teams punting twice after the initial scoring drive by the Seahawks and the quarter concluded with a 3-0 Seahawks lead after 15 minutes of play.
Second Quarter:
The Patriots received the ball to open the second quarter after the Seahawks’ unsuccessful drive late in the first. After just a minute and nine second possession, the Patriots punted the ball right back to the Seahawks with a chance to extend their lead. Seattle did exactly that with a Kenneth Walker led drive to power their lead to 6. Walker had 55 yards on this drive alone, with his longest being a 30-yard run on the second play of the possession. Myers kicked his second field goal attempt of the day, going 2-2 so far. This successful series is followed by a pair of punts by each team and an additional failed possession by the Patriots. After a poor drive by the Seahawks on the previous possession, they were able to sustain a nice drive to stretch the lead to 9 right before halftime with another successful Myers field goal.
Third Quarter:
The Bad Bunny starred halftime show, paying homage to his Latin American roots by Bad Bunny walking through a corn field with different mementos of life where he grew up. Lady Gaga made a surprise appearance in the halftime show, singing a Latin rendition of her Grammy award-winning song, “Die With A Smile.”
The Patriots received the ball to start the second half. After just three plays, the Patriots are left empty-handed once again. With another Darnold and Walker-led drive, the Seahawks carry on their dominant performance by marching down the field on their longest drive of the day, 10 plays and 69 yards. Myers stays perfect, going four-for-four on field goals, capping off the drive with another score, 12-0. The score remains the same for the rest of the third quarter as there are four straight punts, and the final drive ends in a strip sack fumble caused by the Seattle defense. This marks three total quarters played without a touchdown, making it just the second time in Super Bowl history this has happened, with the first occurring in Super Bowl LIII in 2019.
Fourth Quarter:
Coming off the Patriots fumble, the Seahawks drove down the field in five plays, breaking the no-touchdown streak with a 16-yard strike from Darnold to starting tight end, AJ Barner. This opened the floodgates, with Maye throwing a 35-yard touchdown to veteran Mack Hollins on the next possession, making the score 19-7. The momentum began to shift as Seattle stalled out on the following drive, giving the ball back to Maye and the Patriots, looking to make it a one-score game. Just a couple plays into the series, Maye underthrows his intended receiver and gets intercepted by Seahawks safety Julian Love. Myers tops off Seattle’s drive with his fifth successful field goal of the game, making it 22–7. The final Seahawks score comes from a Maye Interception returned for a touchdown by linebacker Uchenna Nwosu. In the next series, Maye throws his second touchdown of the day to Rhamondre Stevenson just before the two-minute warning. The Seahawks run down the rest of the clock to win the Super Bowl 29-13.
Reactions to the game:
Long-time Seattle Seahawks supporter, sophomore Brighton Escalante, speaks on the win, saying, “I’ve been a Seahawks fan for around 12 years.” Born in Washington, Escalante recalled that he was super ecstatic. “I always thought it was going to take years for my team to win a Super Bowl.” The last Seahawks Super Bowl win came in 2014 against the Denver Broncos. Escalante adds, “I was super nervous, I was just scared of choking in the end.”
On the other side of the coin, Callen Moore has been a New England Patriots fan his whole life. Moore further explained how nervous he was before and during the game. When asked about his feelings after the game, Moore noted, saying, “I mean, I was disappointed. “With a second-year quarterback, though, you can’t be too upset about going to the Super Bowl.”
