Super Bowl LX: Derick Hall and Devon Witherspoon create a nightmare for Drake Maye

The Seattle Seahawks knew one of the biggest ways to defeat the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LX was to crowd the line of scrimmage and terrorize Patriots quarterback Drake Maye. There were questions about the offensive line of the Patriots, and Seahawks’ edge rusher Derick Hall solidified those concerns.

As the Patriots started to gain some consistency in their first drive, Seahawks outside linebacker Derick Hall got the first sack of the game. A few plays, cornerback Devon Witherspoon almost sacked Maye and forced him to throw away the ball that probably should’ve been called for intentional grounding.

In the next Patriots’ drive, Witherspoon blitzed from the slot cornerback position to force a three-and-out.

In just two drives, the Seahawks’ defense has sacked Maye twice and has been in Maye’s face to disrupt the passing game as much as possible. The Seahawks’ elite pass rush versus the Patriots’ pass protection has been one of the biggest storylines leading up to the Super Bowl.

The Patriots' offensive line gave up 48 sacks during the regular season, which was the ninth most. They gave up 15 sacks during the three other playoff games. Both sacks from Hall and Witherspoon make it now 17 sacks allowed this postseason.

The biggest mismatch, possibly in the entire Super Bowl, is the Patriots’ rookie left tackle Will Campbell taking on Seahawks edge rusher DeMarcus Lawrence, who is in his 12th season in the league, his first in Seattle. Lawrence has been dominating Campbell early in this game and getting in the face of Maye.

Maye has been able to get some passes completed, but only through the short passing game. The short passing game has been the only way for New England to drive the ball.

Seattle head coach Mike Macdonald and defensive coordinator Aden Durde have countered by sending Hall and Witherspoon on blitzes.

With the Seahawks’ offense struggling early, it is going to be the defense that has to be the star of the game. As of right now, Witherspoon is going to be the Super MVP if kicker Jason Myers keeps getting field goals.

The Seahawks finished the regular season with the top-ranked scoring defense (17.2 points allowed per game), third in rushing yards allowed per game (91.9), and 10th in rushing yards allowed per game (193.9).

This is going to be a defensive battle, and the Seahawks have to make sure they remain the dominant defense and make sure quarterback Sam Darnold doesn’t turn the ball over. Although there have been some close calls already.

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