The New England Patriots dropped Super Bowl LX to the Seattle Seahawks 29-13 on Sunday night
.Here is who caught our eye for better or worse upon live-viewing the Patriots’ playoff loss.
Winners
CB Christian Gonzalez:
If New England had prevailed Sunday night, Gonzalez had a serious case for MVP honors. The top cornerback saved a pair of touchdowns in the first half with a pair of near interceptions while in coverage downfield on Rashid Shaheed and in the end zone on Jaxon Smith-Njigba — a matchup Gonzalez allowed just one catch for 16 yards on in 14 coverage snaps. Gonzalez then had a third pass breakup on Cooper Kupp. The All-Pro corner played his best football down the stretch and should be in line for a monster extension.
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S Craig Woodson: The rookie safety continued his playoff heater, recording a team-high 10 tackles with three coming for a loss — helping the Patriots defense limit Seattle to field goals early in the game. His best TFL may have come on a reverse to the speedy Shaheed. Woodson also broke up a pair of passes to end his rookie season on an extreme high note.
Losers
QB Drake Maye: It was a rough Super Bowl debut for the Patriots young quarterback, as Maye finished 27-of-43 for 295 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions en route to posting -0.44 EPA per dropback. Much of that production came late in the fourth quarter and Maye also lost a fumble on a strip-sack.
Maye’s best throws of the night came on back-to-back completions to Mack Hollins, where he layered one over and in-between defenders over the middle before lofting a 35-yard touchdown in the bucket for a score. Maye’s second interception of the day came on the next drive which was an aggressive misfire downfield to Kyle Williams.
OT Will Campbell and the Offensive Line: Some of Maye’s troubles led to pass protection issues up front, as the quarterback was under pressure on nearly half of his drop backs despite Seattle blitzing on less than 20 percent. New England struggled to pick up those blitzes with CB Devon Witherspoon generating four pressures — including one against left tackle Will Campbell. Most of the pass pro issues came off that left side, as Campbell was initially charted with a whooping 14 pressures allowed by NextGenStats.
Honorable mentions
- Rhamondre Stevenson did his best work as a pass catcher hauling in five receptions for 40 yards — making multiple defenders miss on check downs — and a late touchdown. Him and TreVeyon Henderson managed just 3.25 yards per carry, with the rookie appearing to continue to struggle with his vision.
- Mack Hollins led New England’s pass catchers with four receptions for 78 yards and a touchdown. Both downfield explosives were impressive contested grabs.
- The Patriots other pass catchers were quiet Sunday night. Diggs finished with three catches for 37 yards and Kayshon Boutte had one reception for 21 yards. In live action, separation seemed to be an issue.
- Milton Williams continued his hot streak with five pressures, a sack, and two tackles for loss. Anfernee Jennings also logged five run stops with a TFL, QB hit and pass pass breakup.
- Jack Gibbens appeared to be on scene on A.J. Barner’s late touchdown, getting caught against Seattle’s play-action.
- In a busy day for Bryce Baringer, the punter recorded four i20s and a 44.5 average across eight punts — helping limit dangerous return man Rashid Shaheed to two punt returns for 16 yards.
