Byron Murphy Remixes Geno Smith's Famous Quote on Sam Darnold, Seahawks Defense

The Seattle Seahawks were anything but Super Bowl LX favorites before the 2025 season. Most NFL fans had no clue the defense would be as dominant as it was. Others said there's no way Sam Darnold would be a Super Bowl-winning quarterback.

But the Seahawks are bringing a Lombardi Trophy back to Seattle for the first time since 2014 following a 29-13 victory over the New England Patriots.

Seahawks defensive tackle Byron Murphy II described the team's mentality in the spirit of Geno Smith, his quarterback during the 2024 season.

“We just wanted to go out here and show the world that we the best in the world,” Murphy told NFL Network after the game. “They tried to write us off all season, nobody didn’t believe in us. They tried to write Sam off and said our defense wasn’t like that. We just proved everybody wrong. We just told each other ‘The only thing that matters is the guys in the building,’ man. We just held our head down and just worked.”

Smith's "They wrote me off, I ain't write back though" quote has become bittersweet since it was said back on Sept. 12, 2022 — the Seahawks' first game with a new starting quarterback after enjoying 10 years of Russell Wilson. The game was also conveniently against Wilson at Lumen Field.

Feb 8, 2026; Santa Clara, CA, USA; Seattle Seahawks players celebrate with the Vince Lombardi Trophy after defeating the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LX at Levi's Stadium. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Since then, much has changed. Smith was traded to the Pete Carroll-led Las Vegas Raiders before the 2025 season for a third-round pick after the relationship between he and the Seahawks soured. Seattle went out and got Sam Darnold in rapid succession in a highly criticized move that many viewed as a downgrade.

So, even with the Seahawks' defense entering year two under Mike Macdonald and reloading with more talent, Seattle was an afterthought for Super Bowl contention.

The Raiders went 3-14, while the Seahawks had the exact opposite record in the regular season — setting a franchise wins record. And now they're Super Bowl champions after a gauntlet schedule that included three games against both the San Francisco 49ers (12-5) and Los Angeles Rams (12-5).

As much as Darnold was a part of that, Offensive Player of the Year Jaxon Smith-Njigba knows it all started with the defense. New England barely moved the ball until the end of the game, and Drake Maye was sacked six times with three turnovers. It was suffocating defense at its finest.

“Those guys were ready,” Smith-Njigba added. “They been ready … We know they got our back. They’re the best in the world. We know we get opportunities to score, but it starts with defense, and defense wins championships. We got one today.”

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