The Seattle Seahawks produced a devastating defensive display to beat the New England Patriots and claim their second Super Bowl victory.
Two of the NFL's strongest defenses battled it out in Sunday's showpiece and the Seahawks emphatically came out on top to win 29-13 at Levi's Stadium.
It was a defensive performance for the ages and Briton Aden Durde played a pivotal role, becoming the first overseas coach to win the United States' biggest game.
Seattle's 46-year-old defensive coordinator has helped create the most feared defense in the NFL, which has become known as 'the Dark Side', and they showed why on American football's biggest stage in Santa Clara, California.
New England's second-year quarterback Drake Maye narrowly missed out on this season's Most Valuable Player (MVP) award but was stifled by the Seahawks, who claimed six sacks, forced three turnovers, and scored a defensive touchdown.
After Seattle led 9-0 at half-time, Maye's first turnover resulted in the game's opening touchdown for tight end AJ Barner early in the fourth quarter.
Linebacker Uchenna Nwosu then returned an interception for a 45-yard touchdown, while Jason Meyers kicked a record five field goals, as Seattle denied the Patriots a record seventh Super Bowl win.
We were the better team; we're the best team. We loved each other and believed in each other and now we're champions, Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald told NBC.
Most of the 70,823 crowd seemed to favor Seattle, who came into the game as narrow favorites, and their win also means quarterback Sam Darnold completed his redemption story after being written off as a starting NFL quarterback.
The Seahawks are Darnold's fifth team in his eight-year career and in his first year in Seattle the former third overall draft pick has won the game's biggest prize.
Instead, it was Maye who suffered a nightmare when confronted with the fast, physical defense that Durde and coach Macdonald have fashioned in their two seasons together in Seattle.
New England were playing in their first Super Bowl since 2019 and were denied historic wins as their run game struggled and they could not get star receiver Stefon Diggs into the game.
