Fan Notes from the Patriots Super Bowl 60 loss to the Seahawks

The Patriots just got their doors blown off in the Super Bowl. This game was more or less over from the jump, and there's not a whole lot more to say than that. We're in for a long offseason of Drake Maye crumpled when it mattered" and Will Campbell is a guard, not a tackle" and Patriots are frauds" and any other narrative you can think of. Losing the Super Bowl is never fun, and losing it the way the Patriots did doesn't add to the enjoyment.

But then again, that I'm even writing these Fan Notes this morning is so wild that it's tough to be too upset. New England made an unlikely SB run during a rebuild, then came up against a championship-caliber team that reminded them, and the world, that the Patriots aren't quite there yet. And that's just fine.

Let's get to it. Last one of these until August.

1. This was such a weird buildup to a Super Bowl. I can't really explain it. Maybe it's because of the matchup, or all the other stuff going on in the world right now. Or maybe it's just because of how much less pressure I felt as a fan as opposed to Super Bowls past. Whatever it was, there just seemed to be such a mellow vibe around this game, and honestly, I didn't hate it.
2. To that last point...I'm not ashamed to say that I spent the entire two weeks leading up to both SB 49 and SB 51 a complete nervous wreck. I was elated for about three hours following each respective AFC Championship Game, but I don't think I ate anything or got much sleep between then and the actual game. I also didn't have one lick of fun until the very last second of either of those Super Bowls. The stakes, the implications, the impacts each game had on the narrative and legacy...there was so, so much riding on those games, and the Patriots came out on top both times.
3. This Super Bowl, though? What an amazing surprise it was to even be there, and I was just so grateful to be enjoying the ride that I kind of forgot to stress about the game. I felt the exact same way for the 2001 Super Bowl, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't prefer this kind of fan experience. It's honestly embarrassing how much the Patriots used to impact my mental health, and how this child's game played by adults sometimes seems like the most important thing in the world. So good for me for actually enjoying the experience for what it is, as opposed to letting it dictate my life.
4. Whether this shows real growth as a person or represents the first sign that a middle-aged man is beginning the process of shutting it all down remains to be seen.
5. As for the game itself...I really don't know what there is to say. A better team took it to a young team with an offensive line that was, and is, a liability. New England couldn't block anybody. The ground game couldn't do anything. They didn't have time to do anything in the passing game. And the defense, as strong as they were, couldn't hold on forever. Not much more to say than that.
6. It's tough, because we all knew what the Patriots needed to do in order to have a shot. The defense needed to keep it close. The offense needed to get a few explosive plays. Drake Maye needed to protect the football. And New England needed a short field set up by a turnover or a strong kick/punt return. And exactly one of those things happened.
7. And that's the one positive takeaway from last night's game. This defense can hang with anyone. And had New England won this game, I would have given the MVP nod to Gonzo and it wouldn't have been particularly close. Single-handedly saved two touchdowns and held the Offensive Player of the Year to 27 yards receiving. And other than a few breakout runs from one of the league's best backs, the Seattle offense wasn't able to do much. Red zone defense was lights out. But it wasn't nearly enough.
8. That's because the offense was simply putrid, at every level. Drake Maye had an awful game. Even when he wasn't running for his life, he was inaccurate, indecisive, and jumpy. He capped off a lousy postseason with his worst game yet, and there's no reason not to admit that.
9. Yes, the O-line was terrible. When there are five offensive linemen going up against four defensive linemen and the four defensive linemen make the five offensive linemen look like two offensive linemen, you're going to be in for a long day. But there were no offensive adjustments. The running game was nonexistent. There was no movement in the pocket. The receivers couldn't get any separation even when there was time. And on the rare occasions where Maye had time and had someone wide open-a streaking Austin Hooper with about 35 yards of open real estate in front of him immediately comes to mind-Maye overthrew it or chucked it into the dirt. Just a massive fail all around from the offense, even if you factor in how good Seattle is.
10. And holy jeez is that Seahakws defense a unit. I don't know why the Texans were getting all the love, that was as dominant a defensive performance as I've seen since the 2000 Ravens. I can literally think of two offensive Patriots highlights for the entire game, and they were both Mack Hollins catches. Other than that, the defense just embarrassed the Pats on every level.
11. And wildly enough, when Maye hit Hollins in the end zone to make it 19-7 and then they got the ball right back, I foolishly allowed myself to think that the offense had finally figured it out. But Drake Maye put a quick stop to that with a horrible, horrible interception to set up the FG that iced the game.
12. Though if we're being honest, the way the game was going, I more or less thought it was over when Seattle went up 9-0.
13. There are a number of things that remind you that you're no longer young. As the years go by, you notice certain elements of life that now apply to you that once, years ago, you wouldn't even notice. Things pop and creak when you wake up. The foods you used to love now give you all kinds of indigestion. You're more excited for PJs and bedtime than you are for a big night out. But perhaps no element of humanity hammers home the fact that you're officially an Old quite like being completely out of touch with popular music. I have absolutely no clue who Bad Bunny is. I only heard his name for the first time this week. I couldn't name a single song he wrote. This guy is the Super Bowl Halftime show and I didn't even know that this guy existed. I haven't heard of anyone who sang anything at any point yesterday, and that's just fine with me. Give me 90s alternative any day.
14. This is going to be an important offseason for this team, not just in building a roster and continuing the rebuild, but in terms of mental toughness. How is Drake Maye going to respond to his performance on the biggest stage? Is he going to let it get into his head and affect him going forward? Is he going to use it as fuel to ensure that it never happens again? How will Will Campbell address his play since coming back from injury? How much will this loss galvanize the team or divide them? Where do they go from here?
15. As for me...I'm still optimistic. I'm not all that despondent today at all. If I'm being completely honest, there are regular-season losses that stayed with me longer than this one will. The only benefit of the 2007 Super Bowl as a Patriots fan is that there's simply no way I'll ever experience a loss that miserable ever again. So it all kind of rolls off you after that. Plus, as we've all said a million times...this whole season has just been gravy. The Pats overachieved, caught a few breaks, rode their defense to a title game, and then got absolutely manhandled by the best team in the league. Instead of impressing everyone with a 10-7 season with a Wild Card Round win before getting smoked in the Divisional Round, the 2025 Patriots blew everyone out of the water with a 14-3 season a s Super Bowl berth. There are some that may disagree, but I'll take losing in the championship game over not even making it there every time.
16. I know I haven't done much here in terms of in-game analysis...but honestly, what is there to break down? When you charge headlong towards a bully, and the bully plants his extended arm on your forehead while you hopelessly swing at air before sitting on your chest, grabbing your wrists, and forcing you to punch yourself in the face over and over while saying quit hitting yourself! Quit hitting yourself!" until the recess monitor mercifully comes over and puts you out of your misery, there's no real need to go back to the fight tape and see where the holes in your game are. The Seahawks are a better team. Drake Maye couldn't handle the moment, exacerbated by horrendous offensive line play and a very un-McDaniels inability to adjust. The defense was great, but they can't score points. Sam Darnold protected the football and Maye didn't. Seattle ran it effectively and New England didn't. The result is a 29-13 blowout that honestly wasn't even that close.
17. I'm oddly confident that this won't be Drake Maye's last Super Bowl appearance. It will be tough to get right back there next year, but maybe after another few quality drafts and the right Free Agent moves, New England will once again be forcing haters everywhere to look for any and every excuse to invalidate their success.
18. This should be a really fun offseason. Tons to think about and break down. But for now, I'm looking forward to the break. A part of me always breathes a huge sigh of relief whenever an NFL season ends, as I get half of my weekend back and no longer have to schedule my life around a bunch of large men crashing into each other. Time to turn my attention to other things for a while.
19. As I close out yet another year of Fan Notes-it's wild to think that I've been doing this since 2011-I wanted, as always, to say thank you to everyone who reads my stuff. Even the people who hate read my stuff, I appreciate it nonetheless. I've said it before, but it's worth repeating here: sports fandom is the only hobby where being angry, miserable, irrational, hypocritical, pessimistic, and overly combative with complete strangers somehow really rounds out the experience for a lot of people. As someone who never really found much joy in the miserable part of my football fandom-there's a reason I stopped paying attention to Boston sports media, and I just can't bring myself to watch those compilation videos of Seahawks fans reacting to the Malcolm Butler pick-I'm so, so grateful to have found this community here at the Pulpit. I'm glad there's a place I can go to get legitimate football talk and professional-level analysis without having to wade through the mud to get it. If you're among those who love chopping it up online, then rock on, and I mean that sincerely. But as someone who doesn't enjoy that part of being a fan, this site has been a godsend. And it's a privilege to be able to share my nonsensical takes with you all. So again, thank you.

It was one helluva season, everyone. The future looks bright. Time to start looking towards 2026 and beyond.

Go Patriots.