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The Seahawks and Patriots had no shortage of game-changing plays on their respective routes to Super Bowl LX, with deep completions, breakaways runs, spectacular sacks and much more. Below, we've compiled the All-22 look at four specific examples — one from each offense and one from each defense — to highlight the matchups and moments that could matter most in Super Bowl LX.
What is All-22?
As the name suggests, All-22 is the collection of wide-angle film views that allow you to see all 22 players on the field at one time. These are the angles that coaches, scouts and players use to study and review film. Because it reveals every player's positioning and progression on every play — where broadcast angles do not — All-22 is the most comprehensive perspective for evaluating players, schemes and game strategy. And with an NFL Pro subscription, you can use the exclusive Film Room feature to find and watch All-22 film just like the pros.
Seahawks Offense: The back-breaking threat of Sam Darnold on play action
Including the playoffs, Sam Darnold has thrown 16 touchdowns on play action this season, with a 131.5 passer rating, 11.5 yards per attempt, a 57.9% success rate and 0.39 EPA/dropback — all top three among qualified quarterbacks. His absurd touchdown rate of 11.0% on play action led the entire NFL and was 7.6% higher than his TD rate without play action (3.4%).
This touchdown to AJ Barner is an excellent look at Seattle's play-action offense … and it was a crucial moment in earning the NFC's top seed and paving the road to the Super Bowl. It starts well before the snap, when Darnold sends Eric Saubert in motion to the left slot, positioning him to pick up Byron Young and freeing up Barner to release downfield at the snap. From there, it's an absolute rollercoaster for the Rams defense.
Darnold's fake to Kenneth Walker III pulls safety Kamren Curl and both inside linebackers down towards the run lane as Barner sprints through them to the second level. Then, Darnold's bootleg to the left yanks the entire defense back across the field the other way. Now keep an eye on Barner: he bends his route stem slightly towards the left pylon as if traveling with Darnold, selling it with a brilliant head fake, before breaking the opposite direction at the 15-yard line. That break shakes Kamren Kinchens out of his shoes — almost literally — and when Darnold plants and turns for the throw, Barner is wide open on his way to the end zone. The play design could not have been better — stuff like this in Super Bowl LX could cause nightmares for Mike Vrabel's defense.
Seahawks Defense: Pressuring the QB with split safeties and no blitz
Drake Maye has struggled against an elite trio of defenses this postseason, suffering 15 sacks in three games, with five of those sacks resulting in a fumble. Notably, six of those 15 sacks came against a split-safety look without a blitz. And when Maye has gotten the ball off against that defensive look this postseason, he's posted a 37.3 passer rating with zero touchdowns and two interceptions.
Meanwhile, the Seahawks have played the most dropbacks with split safeties and no blitz in the entire league this year (322), allowing a measly 1.8% touchdown rate and logging 19 sacks and seven interceptions from that look. And this play from the Divisional Round is a brilliant example of why.
A couple seconds after the snap, Brock Purdy still has a decent pocket, but his four potential targets are all bracketed by Seattle's perfectly constructed zone. Jake Tonges might be the only "open" read (on the out route to the right), but anything outside a perfect bullet from Purdy would likely result in a pick-six from Pro Bowler Devon Witherspoon. Instead, the QB is forced to hold the ball another second, at which point Uchenna Nwosu and Jarran Reed have steamrolled the left side of the offensive line all the way into his lap. In turn, that forces Purdy to turn his back to Demarcus Lawrence, who smokes the right tackle, hunts Purdy down from behind and strips the football before he can find an outlet.
This is the ultimate threat of the Seahawks defense: execution and cohesion from all three levels, creating opportunities through excellent scheme and then capitalizing on those opportunities. Maye and OC Josh McDaniels will be hard-pressed to find a good answer for defense like this.
Patriots Offense: The danger of Drake Maye as a scrambler
I covered this in great detail in the NFL Pro insights article last week: Drake Maye is among the most proficient scramblers in the league and has been particularly dangerous in the playoffs. And while Seattle doesn't really have a weakness on defense, scrambling quarterbacks might be the closest thing.
So how does he do it? And can he do it in the Super Bowl? This critical 28-yard run against the Broncos in the AFC Championship provides a solid look. The Patriots had not had a single play of more than 20 yards all game at this point and were facing third-and-long with the score still tied in the third quarter. Maye takes the snap out of shotgun and by the time he reaches the end of his dropback, Pro Bowl pass rusher Nik Bonitto has beaten Will Campbell and is bearing down on Maye from his blind side. At the same time, Maye's receivers are all locked up, with Stefon Diggs and Kayshon Boutte particularly smothered by Denver's sticky corners.
That's when Maye's pocket sense and athleticism kick into gear. He steps up just enough to dodge Bonitto's sack attempt and then sees daylight — namely a five-yard hole in the middle of the offensive line and another 20 yards of space past that hole. The 23-year-old takes off, hitting 19.04 miles per hour on his sprint to the left sideline, outrunning Justin Strnad and dodging P.J. Locke's ill-angled tackle attempt at the 35-yard line. The play resulted in a crucial first down on a drive that ended with the game-winning field goal … and is a cautionary tale of what Maye can do with his legs if given the chance.
Patriots Defense: Big bump in blitz rate (and the Milton Williams X-Factor)
After blitzing on just 27.6% of dropbacks during the regular season, slightly below league average, head coach Mike Vrabel and the Patriots defense have rewritten the playbook in the postseason. Through three games, New England has blitzed on a whopping 40.6% of dropbacks and pressured the QB on 44.4% of those blitzes. And while Sam Darnold managed 8.9 yards per pass attempt against the blitz during the regular season, he threw a league-high seven interceptions on those dropbacks as well.
This play from the Divisional Round, which essentially flipped the script of the game, highlights just how dangerous New England can be with extra men on the pass rush. They bring both K'Lavon Chaisson and Carlton Davis off the edge, and while Seattle neutralizes Davis — as the entire O-line shifts his way on the play-action fake — Chaisson finds a path to C.J. Stroud very quickly. One sneaky observation here: it's possible Harrison Bryant may have had a chance to chip Chaisson had he not tripped over left tackle Aireontae Ersery. But he wouldn't have tripped over Ersery if Milton Williams hadn't blasted the left tackle three yards into the backfield. Williams recorded the fifth-fastest get-off time among defensive tackles this season and used that explosivity to affect this play even without getting anywhere near the quarterback.
Chaisson finished his pursuit by hitting Stroud just as he threw the ball, forcing a floater that playmaker Marcus Jones was perfectly positioned to snag. And when Jones gets his hands on the ball, watch out. This was his fourth interception and second pick-six of the season (not to mention his two punt return touchdowns). Teams to win the turnover differential in the Super Bowl are 40-6 and teams to log a pick-six are 13-1 — the only loss was the Falcons in Super Bowl LI against New England. If the Patriots can do either with their new blitz-heavy approach, they'll have a very good shot at the upset and the Lombardi.
