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The Seahawks ruin the ending to a magical Patriots season – The Boston Globe
Your Pats, who had won 16 out of 17 and not lost by more than 7 points all season, were shocked and awed Sunday by the Seattle Seahawks, losing Super Bowl LX, 29-13, at Levi’s Stadium. This wasn’t Bears, 46-10, like in New Orleans in 1986, but there were times it felt just as feeble. The Patriots were demolished and became the first team to lose six Super Bowls.
It was Starbucks over Dunks. By a lot.
“We had a really good year, one that I’m proud of,” said Patriots coach Mike Vrabel. “This game isn’t a reflection of our year. They [Seattle] are a good football team. I hope we’re able to learn from this. We understand how hard it is to get here.”
The offense in the first three quarters was historically bad. New England punted on its first eight full possessions, then fumbled on the ninth and trailed, 19-0, four plays into the fourth quarter. The Patriots became the first team in 51 years to fail to score in the first three quarters of a Super Bowl.
The dam burst at the end of the third when poor Drake Maye (two interceptions, a lost fumble, six sacks) gave the Seahawks possession on the New England 37. Less then two minutes later, Sam Darnold badly burned Patriots linebacker Jack Gibbens for a 16-yard touchdown pass. The rest of the game was for bettors only, the lowlight coming when a shirtless fan streaked across the field, avoided security, and was chased down by Patriot speedster Kyle Williams.
So much for New England’s Cinderella story. The clock ran out. The slipper wouldn’t fit. The charming narrative of the plucky Patriots, who vaulted from 4-13 all the way to the Super Bowl, can never be diminished. But it ended badly, and there will ever be suspicion that the Fortunate Sons of Vrabel merely took advantage of one of the easiest schedules in league history — the Pats played 11 games against teams who fired their coaches, plus the Jets twice — then got hot in the playoffs and advanced because of their place in the NFL’s weaker conference.
It was certainly a tough Super Bowl week for longtime Patriot owner, Robert Kraft. MAGA-Bob had his name leaked in the Epstein files, was again snubbed in his quest for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and Saturday was trolled at the Duke-UNC hoop game by Bill Belichick’s 24-year-old girlfriend Jordon Hudson with an Orchids of Asia T-shirt — the Florida spa where Kraft was charged with solicitation of prostitution in 2019. (Charges were dropped.)
And then this dismal game. The only way Kraft’s week could have gotten worse would be a second viewing of “Melania.”
Super Bowl LX was a rematch of Super Bowl XLIX in Arizona 11 years ago — a game won when Seattle coach Pete Carroll failed to give the ball to Marshawn Lynch on the 1-yard line. (Thanks, Malcolm Butler!) It was the worst Seattle sports moment since they lost the Sonics.
This time around, the Pats were 4½-point underdogs against a dominant Seattle team that won eight games by at least two touchdowns and compiled the league’s largest point differential. The Seahawks did not commit a single postseason turnover.
Underdog status was nothing new to your 2025-26 Pats, who ran through a raft of Tomato Cans to go 14-3, followed by impressive playoff wins against the Chargers, Texans, and Broncos. It all vaulted the Patriots to their 12th Super Bowl, four more than any other NFL team.
Maye had never played in a Super Bowl, nor set foot on Levi’s Stadium’s real grass surface, but he attended Super Bowl 50 in Santa Clara with his dad when he was 13 years old in 2016. A Charlotte native, The Drake grew up rooting for the Panthers and his dad brought him to Carolina’s 24-10 loss to the Broncos.
“It’s a full-circle moment,” Maye said after the Pats checked into their Santa Clara hotel last Sunday. “I think that’s the biggest thing. I’m just so thankful for my dad to be able to take me to a Super Bowl. I don’t take that for granted; not every kid gets to experience that. I was able to watch my favorite team at the time and I got to see Peyton Manning’s last game — what a cool experience that was. And now, to be here and playing in one for myself, I don’t take that for granted.”
Maye was the NFL’s MVP runner-up in 2025, throwing 31 touchdown passes with only eight interceptions, running for 450 yards, and completing a whopping 72 percent of his passes. Playoff Drake was not the same player. Competing against four of the NFL’s top six defenses, Maye’s completion percentage dipped to 58, he was sacked a postseason-record 21 times, intercepted four times, and lost four fumbles.
Don’t let Maye’s Super Bowl stats (27 for 43, 295 yards, two touchdowns) deceive you. The Drake couldn’t do anything when it mattered Sunday and much of it was not his fault. His offensive line couldn’t handle the pressure.
“They played better than us tonight and they beat us,” said Maye. “They brought pressure and got us a few times. There were times I could have made a better throw or a better decision. It comes down to who makes the play and they made more than we did.”
It was 67 degrees and sunny at kickoff in this rare outdoor NFL championship event. San Francisco legend Joe Montana flipped the coin, Seattle lost the toss, and the Patriots — just like in the old days — deferred. Butler was the official ringer of the bell for the Pats before Andy Borregales kicked off.
Seattle allowed the fewest points in the NFL this year and gave a great demonstration of its prowess. New England’s defense played well for most of the night, holding the Seahawks to four field goals in the first three quarters, but it became too hard when Maye started turning the ball over.
The blowout will reinforce the notion that the Seattle-Rams NFC Championship game was the de-facto Super Bowl of 2026. Maybe so, but that shouldn’t take away from the magic ride that got the Patriots to Super Bowl LX.
Remember this team fondly. Just try not to think about the last game.
It was bad.
Dan Shaughnessy is a Globe columnist. He can be reached at daniel.shaughnessy@globe.com. Follow him @dan_shaughnessy.
So you’re saying there’s a chance? Despite an abysmal start to the 2026 season, the Boston Red Sox remain in the mix for a playoff spot. At least according to FanGraphs, who gives the club a 27.1% chance of reaching the postseason.
Boston’s likely path to October means winning the wild card. FanGraphs gives the Red Sox a 26.1% chance of winning an American League wild card. The team currently sits threes games back of the third and final wild card, despite a record of 25-33.
Don’t look for a division title this year in Beantown. FanGraphs gives the Red Sox a 1% chance of winning the AL East. Which makes sense, since the team currently sits in last place, 11.5 games behind the first-place Tampa Bay Rays.
But SI’s Tom Verducci and Will Laws thinks Boston has a much tougher chance of making the playoffs. In their deep dive of the postseason, the pair came up with what they call the “Line of Doom.” According to their research, a team that starts “no better than 23–31 and your season is almost over only one-third of the way through the schedule.” Here’s why.
“In the wild card era (since 1995), only one team made the postseason starting with less than 22 wins in the first 54 games, the 2005 Astros (20–34). Of the 231 teams to start 23–31 or worse, only seven made the playoffs—once every 33 times,” Verducci and Laws note.
“Since the postseason field expanded in 2022, 31 teams began 23–31 or worse. Only one, the 2024 Mets (22–32), made the playoffs. That leaves such slow starters with a 1 in 31 chance—virtually the same as the larger sample size,” the pair add.
“The fact is one-third of the season does a good job separating pretenders from contenders. And as the calendar flips to June, understand that the playoff spots won’t change very much. In the four seasons with 12 playoff spots up for grabs, teams in playoff position when May ended kept a playoff spot 73% of the time—35 of 48 teams,” Verducci and Laws conclude.
So what does this have to do with the Red Sox, you ask? It’s Boston’s record after 54 games: 23-31. The “Line of Doom.”
More MLB: Red Sox Legend Backs ‘Worried’ John Henry
What should have been a quiet off-day for the Boston Red Sox has devolved into chaos.
Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow was the subject of a profile article in The Boston Globe that didn’t paint a sunny picture of his tenure, including a tough nugget about his relationship with legend Theo Epstein. But Breslow’s harshest critic of the day was probably the father of one of his ex-players.
St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Hunter Dobbins made his second major league appearance on Sunday since being traded from the Red Sox in the deal that brought Willson Contreras to Boston. After Dobbins pitched well and featured his sinker more than expected, his father Lance Dobbins took to social media to excoriate the Red Sox and Breslow.
Lance Dobbins’ latest comments harsher than the first
We covered Lance Dobbins’ initial comments from late Sunday night that seemed to be directed at the Red Sox organization already on Boston Red Sox On SI. But on Monday evening, the elder Dobbins reentered the fray to absolve pitching coach Andrew Bailey of any blame, effectively throwing Breslow under the bus.
When asked if Breslow replacing Chaim Bloom as chief baseball officer led to Hunter throwing less sinkers and fewer four-seam fastballs in the Red Sox organization, Lance responded with this:
Yes! In Bailey’s defense he wanted the addition, but people behind computers make those decisions. The coaching staff is literally working with one hand tied behind their backs. Driveline is the answer to everything, but winning games! Ask yourself, why are so many of our guys…
— Lance Dobbins (@lpdobbins) June 1, 2026
“Yes! In Bailey’s defense he wanted the addition, but people behind computers make those decisions. The coaching staff is literally working with one hand tied behind their backs. Driveline is the answer to everything, but winning games!
“Ask yourself, why are so many of our guys always injured (pitchers and position players), it’s not by pure bad luck. Pitchers are having constant issues and hitters are always hurting hands and wrist. It’s not a league wide problem. It has to be fixed or we’ll never win because half of our starters will always be on the IL.”
That last point has to hit home for the Red Sox because star outfielder Roman Anthony (who debuted in the majors a couple of months after Hunter Dobbins) has now had two long-lasting injuries that occurred on swings — an oblique strain in September that ended his season prematurely, and a partially torn finger ligament that has held him out of action since May 4, with no end in sight.
Monday just wasn’t a good day in the public relations department for the Red Sox front office, or for Breslow in particular. But it’s worth noting that Dobbins has only made two appearances in a Cardinals uniform, allowing four earned runs in eight innings, taking a loss and earning a save.
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Scenic Six
Seasonal train rides, Bristol’s historic Fourth of July celebration, Duck Tour discounts, and more.
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Welcome back to Scenic Six.
I hope everyone had a lovely holiday weekend. We visited friends in Wells, Maine and then explored nearby Ogunquit (recently named the best beach town in New England by Boston.com readers). Though the weather wasn’t the best, outdoor dining was still hopping and the streets were full of people. It’s always a good vibe in Ogunquit.
This week, I’m writing about two New England towns named among the most welcoming in America, a first-of-its-kind remote terminal for Logan Airport, the oldest continuous 4th of July celebration in the nation, Boston Duck Tour discounts, and more.
These New England towns roll out the welcome mat
If you’re looking for a happy getaway, two New England towns were just named on a World Atlas list of 12 of the most welcoming towns in America: Bar Harbor, Maine and Burlington, Vermont. Both are hosting free festivals and other community events this summer, adding even more reasons for a Maine or Vermont escape this season.
Need a ride? Consider a seasonal train
I’m a big fan of train travel because it’s relaxing and stress free. The CapeFlyer between Boston and Cape Cod resumed this past weekend and the Berkshire Flyer between the Berkshires and New York City starts back up on June 12 (with expanded service).
Attend the oldest continuous 4th of July celebration in America
Believe it or not, Independence Day is just around the corner and one of the best celebrations in America is in Bristol, R.I., according to USA Today. The publication just named the Bristol Fourth of July Celebration among the best 4th of July celebrations in the nation (fun fact: this will be its 241st year).
Travel tips:
- Logan Airport passengers flying JetBlue and Delta Air Lines can soon skip airport security lines and go straight to their gate by using a first-of-its-kind remote terminal in Framingham, opening June 1.
- Celebrate America’s 250th birthday at Weir Farm National Historical Park in Ridgefield, Conn., the only national park dedicated to American painting, on June 14 (Flag Day) by attending the free event Art is Revolutionary. Guests will enjoy live music, plein air demonstrations, open house tours, refreshments, and art making activities.
Deals and steals:
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- Celebrate the 140th anniversary of Basin Harbor Resort & Boat Club in Vergennes, Vermont by booking the Summer Starts Early package, which takes 25% off weekdays and 10% off weekends on three-night stays taking place through June 18.
- Taking a Boston Duck Tour? Save up to $10 per ticket on tours departing before 10 a.m. by using the discount code EARLYDUCK. The discount is valid for online purchases only.
- Traveling by train? Save up to 60% off eight tickets on Amtrak when booking Amtrak Share Fares by using the code V291 on the Amtrak app. A two-day advance purchase is required.
I’ll leave you with this photo I took of the sunrise in Wells, Maine.
Where have you traveled lately? Please share your photos by sending them to [email protected] and they may be featured in an upcoming Scenic Six newsletter.
Whether you’re traveling this week or planning your next escape, enjoy the journey.
— Kristi
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