Super Bowl LX: History Says Drake Maye in Trouble Against Mike Macdonald Defense

The Seattle Seahawks have one opponent left standing in the way of lifting the Lombardi Trophy. The Seahawks will face the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LX for their second potential Super Bowl title in franchise history.

Seattle defeated its divisional rival in the Los Angeles Rams, for the second time in three matchups this season in a thrilling 31-27 win in the NFC Championship. The offense, led by quarterback Sam Darnold and wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njiga, had a great performance. The same couldn’t be said about the defense, though.

The Seahawks allowed 479 total yards, with 365 of them coming from the passing game. The pass rush barely put pressure on Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, and the secondary, particularly the cornerbacks, allowed an average of 10.1 yards per pass. They didn’t start playing like the number one-ranked scoring defense until the fourth quarter.

They will have a chance to redeem themselves on the biggest stage in a few weeks against another top-five scoring offense in the league, the Patriots, led by second-year quarterback Drake Maye. The Patriots finished the regular season ranked second in the league in points per game (28.8) and fourth in passing yards per game (250.5) thanks to a 4,394 passing yard season from Maye.

Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV makes a tackle in the NFC Championship win over the Los Angeles Rams. — Jan 25, 2026; Seattle, WA, USA; Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford (9) dives for a first down against Seattle Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV (13) during the second half in the 2026 NFC Championship Game at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Ng-Imagn Images | Kevin Ng-Imagn Images

Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald has been incredibly successful in guiding his defense against quarterbacks younger than 24 years old. NFL.com’s senior researcher Dante Koplowitz-Fleming released a post on Twitter that states Macdonald is 6-0 versus these young quarterbacks since 2023, when he was in his final season as the defensive coordinator for the Baltimore Ravens.

Young quarterbacks who face the Macdonald-coached defense have only thrown one touchdown while throwing eight interceptions. Seattle has also sacked those young quarterbacks 22 times in those six games. Among the games this season was the 30-24 Week 12 road win over the Tennessee Titans, led by rookie quarterback Cam Ward. He threw one touchdown in the game, but was sacked four times.

Maye has been more consistent than some of his fellow young starting quarterbacks. Maye completed 72% of his passes for 4,394 yards, 31 touchdowns, only eight interceptions, and a quarterback rating of 113.5 in his 17 games during the regular season. He also rushed for 450 yards and four touchdowns.

The Seahawks’ defense will have its hands full with Maye, who is a finalist for the league MVP award. He is looking to be the youngest starting quarterback to ever win a Super Bowl. Macdonald and the Seahawks have the experience to bring down talented quarterbacks; they just have to use the two weeks to plan for him.

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