New England Patriots
Christian Gonzalez and Craig Woodson had strong showings in the Super Bowl. Will Campbell and the Patriots’ offensive line? Not so much.
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — An old issue flared up once again in the biggest game of the year. New England’s offensive line got manhandled by the Seattle defense in Super Bowl LX, leading to a 29-13 loss at Levi’s Stadium.
The Patriots were unable to effectively establish the ground game, with Rhamondre Stevenson and TreVeyon Henderson getting swallowed up quickly in the backfield without much room to run.
Drake Maye was hit early and often and looked rattled from the jump. The Patriots’ receivers, who had been reliable throughout the regular season, did not get enough separation to move the needle.
Kenneth Walker III gashed the Patriots’ run defense for big gains, offsetting a shaky performance from Sam Darnold. Christian Gonzalez, Carlton Davis, and Craig Woodson delivered big stops in the first half, but it wasn’t enough to keep the Patriots from falling into a 9-0 halftime hole. Seattle kept chipping away with field goals, steadily building a lead from long distance.
It was all too much for Maye, Stevenson, Stefon Diggs, and the Patriots’ offensive line to overcome.
Here’s a look at who stood out and struggled during the Super Bowl LX loss.
Stock Up
Christian Gonzalez
Gonzalez had a really strong showing. Jaxon Smith-Njigba was held to four catches and 27 yards on 10 targets.
Gonzalez made play after play, reaching back to deflect a deep ball early in the game, diving in front of a throw for another pass breakup at the goal line. He had three pass breakups in total.
On a night where the Patriots pass-rush struggled to get to the quarterback (1 sack, 6 QB hits), the secondary was a strength and Gonzalez was a big part of that.
Craig Woodson
Woodson capped a productive rookie year with one of his better performances. He led the team with ten tackles, including three for loss. He broke up a pair of passes. He almost took Sam Darnold out on a blitz.
The rookie safety hit the ground running this season, earning a starting role alongside fellow Cal product Jaylinn Hawkins. The California duo unexpectedly supplanted Kyle Dugger and Jabrill Peppers and earned a trip back to the Bay Area for the Super Bowl.
It didn’t go well, but Woodson was a bright spot.
Carlton Davis
Davis had a pair of big stops early and played a solid overall game. He had no penalties, helped keep Cooper Kupp in check, and was a key piece in an overall strong performance from the Patriots’ secondary.
The defense had short fields to work with all night, and in the first half routinely held Seattle to field-goals. With the offense unable to gain traction, the dam eventually broke for the defense in the second half.
But Davis and the secondary were strong, especially early on.
Mack Hollins
Holllins was the only Patriots receiver with more than 50 yards. He only caught half of his eight targets, but they went for big plays, averaging nearly 20 yards a catch.
He halued in one of the Patriots two touchdowns on a 35-yard deep throw from Maye.
He led the Patriots in receiving yards in both the AFC title game and the Super Bowl after returning from an abdominal injury.
Milton Williams
Williams got through for the Patriots only sack and a pair of tackles-for-loss.
Walker became the first running back to have a decent amount of success against this Patriots front seven this postseason, and it earned him Super Bowl MVP honors.
The Patriots defense as a whole wore down as the game went on, but they were stout up front for most of the game. Williams easily the most disruptive player on the Patriots defensive line, as he usually has been this season.
Stock Flat
Rhamondre Stevenson
It’s hard to say that Stevenson played badly when there was so little push from the offensive line, and the Patriots basically gave up on the run. Obviously the results weren’t great (7 carries for 23 yards), but Stevenson found other ways to contribute in the pass-blocking game and using his hands for catches.
Maye flicked a short touchdown pass to Stevenson in the red zone late in the fourth for the Patriots’ final score.
Marcus Jones
It was a bit of a bizarre game for Jones. The Seahawks tried to pick on him early on, but he eventually settled down and contributed seven tackles.
The usually aggressive punt returner watched one roll past him with the Seahawks downing it deep in Patriots territory, pinning the New England offense back as far as it could.
Overall, though, the Patriots’ secondary was solid and there wasn’t too much damage done via the Seattle receivers. Jones got a pair of touches on punt returns and wasn’t about to do much with them.
Stock Down
Drake Maye
The Patriots were already down by two scores at this point, but the moment when the game really seemed over came with ten seconds to go in the third quarter when Maye coughed up a fumble for the first turnover of the game.
He was never able to settle in and get comfortable. Seattle threw a variety of blitzes at him. They sent cornerback Devon Witherspoon at him. They sent linebackers. Sometimes, they got home without blitzing.
The Patriots offensive line was not much help at all, but Maye also seemed timid. He contributed to some of the sacks by holding onto the ball too long.
He hit his stride once the game was out of reach, connecting on a pair of late touchdown passes and finishing with 295 yards on 27-for-43 passing. But, the statline doesn’t show how hard it was for the Patriots to move the ball until it was too late.
Ultimately, three turnovers and the Seattle points they led to hurt the team more than the late touchdowns helped.
Stefon Diggs
After compiling his seventh 1,000 yard season in eight years, Diggs was pretty much invisible in these playoffs. He never had a game with more than four catches or 40 yards.
Sunday’s Super Bowl was no different. The Patriots’ top receiving option found himself smothered from start to finish.
He totaled three catches for 37 yards. He was thrown to the ground in a sideline scuffle with c. His catches came late after the game was out of reach. He caught all three of his targets, he just wasn’t open much.
Kayshon Boutte
Boutte had one catch on five targets. Perhaps the Patriots’ most reliable deep threat, Boutte made a number of big catches throughout the season including the one-handed grab against the Texans that sent the Patriots to the AFC title game.
In this game, he struggled. All of the Patriots’ receivers did, but the gap between his performance and his usual production was big.
The entire offensive line (especially Will Campbell)
Where to begin with this group? One of the enduring images of this game will be Jared Wilson getting driven straight back into his quarterback for a sack. He also shoved Derrick Hall towards Maye on another sack.
Will Campbell once again looked overmatched at left tackle. According to Next Gen Stats, he yielded 14 pressure allowed. Morgan Moses got beat for a strip-sack and looked away from the play before it was over, allowing Seattle to pounce on the ball.
It was a rough showing all the way around. Maye was sacked six times. The Patriots had to abandon the run in the second half because they couldn’t get anything going.
What do the Patriots need to do in the offseason?
Get the latest Boston sports news
Receive updates on your favorite Boston teams, straight from our newsroom to your inbox.
