Sorry for the delayed posting on this, but the travel back from San Francisco threw me for a loop, and I wanted to be on top of my game for this.
A review of the film didn’t change much from my postgame analysis that the Patriots were dominated in all three phases and were simply beaten by a much better and more talented team that didn’t get enough credit, including from this corner.
The top teams by DVOA since 1978, including playoffs.
1991 Washington: 53.9%
1985 Bears: 52.3%
2007 Patriots: 51.0%
2025 SEAHAWKS: 46.4%
1989 49ers: 45.1%
1996 Packers: 44.9%
(ESPN number may be slightly off, being fixed right now.)https://t.co/TR1NxQTze7
— Aaron Schatz 🏈 (@ASchatzNFL) February 9, 2026
Let’s just get into the blame pie game. Ranking, in descending order, the eight biggest reasons why the Patriots lost the Super Bowl:
8. Were the Patriots front-runners?
This was not on my mind after the game, but it seemed to be on Mike Vrabel‘s mind in the immediate aftermath, because this was his opening answer to a question about what his message was to the team:
“I am proud of everything they’ve done. I am disappointed just like they are. I reminded them that we are 307 days into what hopefully is a long successful relationship and program and that it is ok to be disappointed. We have to be disappointed and upset together, and I tell them I am appreciative of them, thankful, and grateful that I get to coach them. Part of our identity is not being a frontrunner, so again just like every year someone is going to lose this game, and we have to remember what it feels like and make sure that it is not repeated.”
“Part of our identity is not being a frontrunner.”
For some reason, that has really stuck with me. The Patriots only trailed at halftime this season twice: Week 8 to the Browns (6-7), Week 3 to the Steelers (7-14). Was Vrabel indicating that the Patriots were discouraged at halftime, that they didn’t really know how to pick themselves up? Then there’s the other quote, “We have to be disappointed and upset together,” which he echoed to the players coming into the locker room. Were some players not handling the game-long struggle well? The only thing I saw on film was Stefon Diggs being demonstrative after not getting the ball a few times.
All of it is curious. “Part of our identity is not being a frontrunner.” Did Vrabel think the Patriots revealed themselves to be frontrunners?
The Patriots weren’t bad — might have gotten a big boost on a Marcus Jones punt return into Seattle territory, but Dell Pettus had a blatant block in the back — but the Seahawks were stones. Jason Meyers was 5 for 5 on field goals. Michael Dickson had an average of 47.9, a net of 47.3 and made New England starts at the 2, 4 and 6-yard lines (once was Marcus Jones’ fault). Seattle made D’Ernest Johnson return kicks, and he did nothing (25.8). Jones fielded two punts for 4 yards (thanks to Pettus’ penalty). Bryce Baringer was fine, but he wasn’t Dickson.
Part of the Patriots’ gameplan was to take the run away and make Sam Darnold have to beat them. Didn’t happen because the Patriots couldn’t stop the Super Bowl MVP enough. Walker finished with 161 total yards. Darnold threw for 202. The Patriots blew too many edges and didn’t tackle well enough. Also, Seattle’s maligned interior offensive line kind of owned the Patriots, especially on the ground. That was a disappointment.
5. Not turning Sam Darnold over/lack of pressure.
Both teams turned up the pressure early in an effort to speed up the opposing quarterback. It worked for the Seahawks against Maye, who turned it over three times. It didn’t work for the Patriots against Darnold (zero turnovers, even though he tried hard early). The Patriots blitzed 67.5% and only got 32.5% pressure. That’s not nearly enough bang for your buck.
The QB who turned the ball over was going to lose this game. I figured it would be Darnold, and not Maye. The opposite was true.
When your stats after three quarters look like this, the offensive coordinator is going to be high on the list:
But when your offensive line is getting dominated, and the QB is rightfully sped up as a result, there’s not a lot a playcaller can do. That being said, there were some curious decisions in this game that may or may not be McDaniels’ fault/responsibility. It’s possible he was under orders from the head coach, like:
