The Patriots won the coin toss and deferred, so the Seahawks took the opening kickoff. Rashid Shaheed, though, didn’t get an opportunity.
The Patriots kicked it out of the back of the end zone to avoid the dangerous returner.
That meant the Seahawks had to go only 65 yards for a touchdown. They went 51 yards in eight plays and settled for a 33-yard Jason Myers field goal and a 3-0 lead.
Kenneth Walker ran 10 yards on the first play from scrimmage, and two plays later, Patriots cornerback Marcus Jones tried to undercut tight end AJ Barner. Instead, Barner caught it and ran for 15 yards.
Then, Sam Darnold found Cooper Kupp, who was guarded by Jones, for 23 yards. It looked like Kupp might have bobbled the ball before going out of bounds, but the Patriots did not challenge the play.
From the Seattle 17, though, Darnold twice threw incomplete, sandwiched between a Walker run for 3 yards.
Myers hit the chip-shot field goal, and the Seahawks lead.
PFT is on the scene at Super Bowl LX in Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, and a quick glance at the crowd makes one thing clear: There are a lot more Seahawks fans than Patriots fans here.
Seahawks jerseys easily outnumber Patriots jerseys in the stands, and the only crowd noise during pregame warmups that could be heard in the press box was cheers for the Seahawks and boos for the Patriots.
That probably shouldn’t be surprising. The Patriots have been in so many Super Bowls in the last quarter-century that most New England fans who have the desire and the means to attend have already been to one. The Seahawks were last in a Super Bowl 11 years ago, when they lost to the Patriots, so there are more Seahawks fans who have been waiting a long time to see their team try to win it all.
It also doesn’t hurt that we’re a lot closer to Seattle than we are to New England.
Seahawks fans are known for being loud, and the 12s may give them a crowd noise advantage — not as big an advantage as they provide at home in Seattle, but one that could make things just a little bit harder on the Patriots’ offense.
The Seahawks only had one player with an injury designation on their final injury report before Super Bowl LX and fullback Robbie Ouzts will not play.
Ouzts was listed as questionable and is sidelined by a neck injury. He also missed the NFC Championship Game.
Tight end Elijah Arroyo is active for Seattle for the first time since Week 13. The second-round pick was on injured reserve with a knee injury until being activated ahead of the NFC Championship Game.
Quarterback Jalen Milroe, linebacker Chazz Surratt, linebacker Jared Ivey, offensive lineman Mason Richman, tight end Nick Kallerup, and nose tackle Brandon Pili are the other inactives for the Seahawks.
The Patriots had a pair of defensive starters listed as questionable to face the Seahawks in Super Bowl LX, but both of them got the green light to play on Sunday.
Edge rusher Harold Landry and linebacker Robert Spillane are both in the lineup at Levi’s Stadium. Landry missed the AFC Championship Game with a knee injury and was limited in practice this week. Spillane missed time at the end of the regular season with an ankle injury and returned for the playoffs before aggravating the issue against the Broncos a couple of weeks ago.
Defensive lineman Joshua Farmer (hamstring) was listed as questionable as well, but the Patriots did not activate him from injured reserve on Saturday so he will not play.
Cornerback Kobee Minor, linebacker Bradyn Swinson, offensive tackle Marcus Bryant, guard Caedan Wallace, tight end C.J. Dippre, wide receiver Efton Chism, and quarterback Tommy DeVito are New England’s inactive players.
Nobody does petty better than Bill Belichick. Or his girlfriend, Jordon Hudson.
Last year, Hudson trolled the Falcons with a Super Bowl LI championship T-shirt. That’s the game in which the Falcons blew a 28-3 lead to Belichick’s Patriots. And the diss carried a little extra sizzle, given that the Falcons interviewed Belichick but did not hire him after he was fired by the Patriots.
Now, as Belichick maintains open beef with the Patriots, Hudson is trolling team owner Robert Kraft. Via TMZ.com, Hudson wore an “Orchids of Asia Day Spa” T-shirt to Saturday’s Duke-North Carolina basketball game. That’s the name of the Jupiter, Florida facility at which Kraft was arrested for solicitation of prostitution. The charges eventually were dropped.
It’s just the latest chapter in the ongoing acrimony between Belichick and Kraft. Even though Kraft hasn’t really done anything to stoke the fire. After Belichick was snubbed for Hall of Fame enshrinement, Kraft said Belichick “unequivocally deserves” to be a first-ballot Hall of Famer.
