The Seattle Seahawks didn’t win Super Bowl LX with trick plays or late-game drama. They won it the same way they had built their entire season: with preparation, discipline, and complete trust in their head coach.
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For safety Nick Emmanwori, the story of Seattle’s championship began well before the team ever stepped onto the field at Levi’s Stadium. It began two weeks earlier, when Mike Macdonald was given extended time to install and refine his game plan.
Asked whether he felt confident heading into the Super Bowl, Emmanwori didn’t hesitate.
“I feel like, you know, whenever you give Mike McDonald maybe like two weeks or a lot of time to prepare for a team, I think we’re going to go out there and, you know, we’re going to dominate,” Emmanwori said. “I mean, it speaks for itself. Everybody was watching that game.”
That sense of continuity reflected Macdonald’s broader philosophy. Throughout the season, he emphasized consistency, connection, and trust as much as scheme. His “walk and talks,” in which teammates were paired together for guided conversations, became a regular part of the team’s culture.
Even during Super Bowl week, that routine didn’t change. Three days before kickoff, Macdonald shared the final question he posed to his players.
“The last question was, ‘Ten years from now, when we have our team reunion, what are you guys going to remember about this team?’” he said.
It was a reminder that the moment was bigger than pressure, bigger than nerves, and bigger than any single play. That mindset showed throughout media week. Practices were focused but relaxed. Players joked between interviews. There was no visible tension. Everything about the environment suggested a team that trusted its work.
Macdonald later admitted that his players helped keep him grounded when the stakes felt overwhelming.
“I go through the game plan every week and I get to Friday and start stressing,” he told the team, according to DeMarcus Lawrence. “Next thing you know, I see you guys and it’s like all of [the stress] is thrown away.”
On the field, that preparation translated most clearly in how Seattle handled Patriots quarterback Drake Maye. Macdonald, known for his analytical mind and habit of pausing to process before responding, designed his defense to force Maye into similar hesitation. Late rotations, disguised coverages, and delayed blitzes were layered into nearly every series.
Cornerback Devon Witherspoon explained that slowing Maye’s rhythm was the priority.
“Once he gets on point, he get the ball out very early, it’s very hard to stop him,” Witherspoon said. “So I think we had a great game plan for that… just make him hold the ball a little bit longer than he normally do.”
New England coordinator Josh McDaniels had taught Maye to confirm his reads after the snap. Against most defenses, that patience made him efficient. Against Seattle, it became a weakness. By waiting to verify what he saw, Maye gave defenders time to close throwing lanes and collapse the pocket.
Witherspoon became one of the biggest weapons in that plan. After rarely blitzing during the regular season, he was suddenly unleashed in the Super Bowl, producing four pressures and a sack.
“I haven’t been blitzing a lot this year but… it was best for our team,” Witherspoon said. “I enjoy them a lot.”
Maye was pressured on more than half of his dropbacks, absorbed six sacks, and turned the ball over three times. Through three quarters, the Patriots converted just two third downs. The game never felt out of control.
While the defense dominated, the offense provided stability. Quarterback Sam Darnold, who had started for five different teams, spent Super Bowl week reflecting on how difficult it is to earn trust in the NFL.
“I’ve been on five different teams,” Darnold said. “I feel like you’re just trying to earn people’s trust every single offseason and during the season.”
In the championship, he delivered exactly what Seattle needed. He protected the football, avoided unnecessary risks, and managed the game within the structure of the offense. He became the first quarterback to start for at least four teams and win a Super Bowl.
For Emmanwori, the championship wasn’t about luck or momentum. It was about having the time to prepare properly. “I knew the game plan was solid,” he said. “It was a nice game plan and it was a Super Bowl. So we didn’t have no choice.”
