Five Lessons From Super Bowl LX, Including Mike Macdonald’s Standing in the NFC West

Seattle went against the grain by hiring a defensive coach, and the move paid off. Plus, the MVP was awarded to the right player and Stefon Diggs’s future in New England is uncertain.

Mike Macdonald led the Seahawks to a Super Bowl win in his second season as head coach in Seattle. | Simon Bruty/Sports Illustrated

It was quite the challenge for 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan to offer insight into how to score points against the Seahawks’ vaunted defense while serving as a guest analyst on NBC’s Super Bowl LX pregame show.

But, hey, at least Shanahan was honest about the team that gave his offense plenty of fits this season. 

“I know you guys want my expert opinion, but I haven’t scored a touchdown [on the Seahawks] the last two times we’ve played them, so I don’t know how good that is,” Shanahan said.

To Shanahan’s credit, San Francisco did beat Seattle in Week 1, with the 49ers’ offense having success on the ground, a key that Shanahan mentioned for scoring on the best defense in the league. 

For a long time, Shanahan vied with Rams coach Sean McVay for the label of best coach in the NFC West. But that recognition might now belong to Mike Macdonald after guiding the Seahawks to a Super Bowl title in his second season. The Patriots didn’t listen to Shanahan’s analysis about establishing the run and were crushed 29–13 at Levi’s Stadium on Sunday.

With Shanahan being so honest, he might admit that Macdonald is now the better coach in the division. I’ll take his lead here and call myself out for a few mistakes I’ve had this season when writing about the Seahawks’ defense.

Here’s what we learned during Super Bowl LX. 

Mike Macdonald is the new top coach in the NFC West 

And just like that, Macdonald is just as accomplished as McVay, with both having one Super Bowl title. Macdonald has already done what Shanahan has failed to do in two Super Bowl appearances. 

The Seahawks struck gold with Macdonald the second they realized they needed to buck the latest coaching trend. While most teams searched for the next McVay or Shanahan, coaches with offensive backgrounds, Seattle went the other direction and bet on the rising defensive coach from Baltimore—and hasn’t looked back since hiring Macdonald two seasons ago. 

What’s more impressive is the amount of trust the organization had in Macdonald from the beginning, despite him being a first-time head coach. That must not have been easy to do after several successful seasons with the experienced Pete Carroll, who was in his 70s before being replaced by the coach still two years away from 40. 

In his first season, Macdonald wasn’t pleased with the early results from his defense and the team immediately reshaped the roster, trading for linebacker Ernest Jones IV, who had a game-high 11 total tackles in the Super Bowl. Then came all the drastic offensive moves ahead of the 2025 season. Out went quarterback Geno Smith, wide receiver DK Metcalf and offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb, before the Seahawks signed Sam Darnold, hired OC Klint Kubiak, who will soon be the head coach of the Raiders and selected rookie guard Grey Zabel in the first round.

Macdonald hasn’t gotten much wrong since arriving in Seattle last year, and now GM John Schneider and the Seahawks are reaping the rewards from taking a chance on a defensive coach. 

Drake Maye winning MVP would have been strange 

Let’s put an end to the MVP debate. There was a lot made about Drake Maye falling one first-place vote short from winning the award over Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, with Patriots fans taking out their frustrations on the reporter who cast his vote for Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert.

While Maye had a stellar regular season, he was not better than Stafford in 2025. New England’s second-year quarterback was clueless against Seattle’s stout defense. Meanwhile, Stafford carved up this same defense twice, throwing at least 374 passing yards in two of the three meetings, while logging eight total touchdowns and zero interceptions in the three games between the divisional rivals. 

I get it. MVP is about a player’s value. But let’s get real, this award has generally gone to the best quarterback among the playoff teams. That was Stafford, and it’s not like he had a strong offensive line. Additionally, Los Angeles might have missed the postseason without Stafford, especially with a weak secondary and special teams. 

Let’s stop wasting our time with this debate. Maye struggled throughout the postseason and had no answers against the Seahawks on Sunday. He’s on track to have a decorated career, but he still has a ways to go to be on the level of Stafford. The right quarterback won MVP this season. 

The Seahawks caused trouble for Drake Maye throughout Super Bowl LX. | Jamie Schwaberow/Sports Illustrated

Seahawks’ defense is loaded with star players 

I’ll take this one on the chin. I was dead wrong when I foolishly said early in the season that his Seattle defense was overrated. 

At the time, Macdonald had just watched his defense get torched by Baker Mayfield and the Buccaneers during a Week 5 setback. There was also a Week  1 home loss to the 49ers, when the defense failed to get a stop in crunch time against Brock Purdy.

But I had an even more foolish early-season takeaway, saying this defense lacked star power, adding that they’re missing what Houston has with edge rusher Will Anderson Jr. and cornerback Derek Stingley Jr., or Denver with edge rusher Nik Bonitto and cornerback Patrick Surtain II. But Seattle’s duo of defensive tackle Leonard Williams and cornerback Devon Witherspoon are just as good and bona fide stars with what they’ve shown this season.

Witherspoon outshone Patriots cornerback Christian Gonzalez, who was outstanding in coverage, because he offered more as a pass rusher, generating a sack and pressure on Uchenna Nwosu’s pick-six in the fourth quarter.

But the Seahawks don’t just have a pair of stars. Rookie safety Nick Emmanwori and second-year defensive tackle Byron Murphy II, who had two sacks against the Patriots, are well on their way to elite status, too. Seattle’s defense has it all, with depth, an abundance of talent and a defensive mastermind at the helm. 

Maybe I should take credit for motivating this defense because the Seahawks only lost one game after falling to Mayfield’s Buccaneers. 

There’s a strong chance Stefon Diggs won’t return to Patriots 

Stefon Diggs seemed caught off guard when asked by reporters following the Super Bowl loss whether he believes he’ll be back with the Patriots next season. He then quickly remembered the business side of the NFL and his $26.5 million cap hit. The team would save $16.8 million against the cap if it decides to cut Diggs in the offseason.

Diggs mentioned he would love to stay for a second season in New England, but he might need to take a pay cut, considering he turns 33 in November and is at the back end of his prime. The brash receiver has worn out his welcome at multiple stops, including Buffalo and Minnesota, but he was instrumental in New England’s turnaround, providing toughness and plays for Maye, and setting the standard for what it takes to achieve success. 

Diggs, however, had a disappointing Super Bowl performance, recording only three catches for 37 yards and one fight with cornerback Josh Jobe. 

Patriots haven’t figured out how to utilize TreVeyon Henderson 

For a few weeks, it seemed the Patriots had unlocked the vast skill set of rookie running back TreVeyon Henderson. However, offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels struggled to get him involved after Rhamondre Stevenson returned from injury and regained his starting job. 

In the four playoff games against the Chargers, Texans, Broncos and Seahawks, Henderson didn’t crack 27 rushing yards and only saw double-digit touches in one game. The Patriots didn’t try hard enough to get him involved in the postseason, partly because he’s inconsistent running between the tackles, and the four opponents were regarded as top-five defenses. However, that’s not an excuse for McDaniels and coach Mike Vrabel failing to find creative ways to give Henderson the ball in open space, allowing him to utilize his athleticism.

It was evident early in Super Bowl LX that the Patriots’ offense was going to have a long night because teams have very little odds of beating the Seahawks without a rushing attack. Stevenson and Henderson had a combined 42 rushing yards on 13 carries. 

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