The New England Patriots' offense, led by MVP runner-up Drake Maye, was no match for the top-ranked Seattle Seahawks defense in Super Bowl LX. Considering how bleak it felt around this time last year, this was unequivocally a successful season in Foxboro. Their performance in the big game, however, left much to be desired.
Naturally, there are plenty of blame-worthy folks for New England. You win as a team and you lose as a team. These Patriots in particular deserve the brunt of disgruntled fans' fury, however. Seattle left the door open all night and New England never capitalized. Let's start in the trenches...
Will Campbell (and the entire Patriots O-line)
Seattle's deep and aggressive pass rush bulldozed the Patriots' offensive line all night. Whether it was a blitz package or a simple four-man rush, New England was short on answers. It was the most glaring mismatch all night.
Drake Maye took six sacks, which ties the Super Bowl record. He fumbled and threw two picks. It was a complete masterclass from Seattle's defensive front. Arguably the best quarterback in the NFL this season looked utterly hapless.
Will Campbell was probably the weakest link for New England. The rookie was consistently beat one-on-one. Maye felt pressure on his left side with alarming frequency. He was the fourth overall pick, lauded as Maye's bodyguard for the next decade. That many very well prove true, but this was an important learning experience for Campbell. He looked outmatched physically, technically. He needs to hammer the tape and work hard to enact improvement.
Josh McDaniels
The Patriots' offensive game plan was a complete dumpster fire. Josh McDaniels earned his stripes calling plays for Tom Brady for years, but his most recent track record as the head coach in Las Vegas and now the OC for Drake Maye has sparked no shortage of consternation. This Seahawks defense was a buzzsaw all season long. Mike Macdonald and company deserve all the credit in the world. But it's not like New England did itself any favors on Sunday night.
McDaniels hung Drake Maye out to dry with tons of drop-backs in the first half, which crumbled against the Seattle pass rush. Rhamondre Stevenson and TreVeyon Henderson were basically M.I.A., as New England refused to establish the run — refused to balance the offense.
New England found itself in third-and-long on practically every drive, with scant exceptions. Maye did not perform up to his capabilities (more on that soon), but McDaniels did not put him in a position to succeed either. The Patriots spent all night trying to engineer Drake Maye hero ball when he plainly was not up to the task.
The Pats won't fire McDaniels, nor should they necessarily. But his legacy carries zero weight in 2026. He needs to modernize, adapt to his quarterback, and find ways to counter elite pass rushes, which New England just did not do effectively this season (and especially in these playoffs).
Drake Maye
Drake Maye was able to stat pad with a couple fourth quarter touchdowns, but this was a disastrous Super Bowl debut for the sophomore quarterback. The O-line did him zero favors, but Maye's first interception was an absolute meatball, served up on a silver platter. That mistake basically ended all hopes of a comeback.
Mike Tirico: "Cris, all of a sudden, there's a rhythm to the New England offense..."
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) February 9, 2026
Cris Collinsworth: "[Drake Maye] is reading the defense now... a couple of the best plays that he's had so far..."
*Interception*
Collinsworth: "Ummmm, I've got nothing for you here." pic.twitter.com/AKlEONFhzy
Maye couldn't handle the pressure. Aside from a couple scrambles, his unique talents as a runner were completely negated. Plenty of New England's drives short-circuited due to poor protection, but Maye had more than his share of bad reads and inexplicable misfires. Too many simple mistakes made New England's more systemic issues unconquerable.
You should not sell your Drake Maye stock. He's 23 and this was a flat-out special season for the former No. 3 pick. That said, rather than a crowning moment, Maye was dealt a huge learning experience on Sunday night. He's more than capable of internalizing this disappointment and using it to fuel the necessary improvements. Michael Jordan got knocked around by Detroit a couple times before climbing the mountaintop. If this is the pinnacle for New England, however, a lot of Patriots fans will be left wondering what could have been...